Shift in Time
by Perfect Beauty
Summary: During a battle with an unknown enemy,16 year old Minato Namikaze disappears.He wakes up and finds himself in the middle of the 4th Shinobi War. Will Minato's presence change the course of history? Find Out! AU..
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Destination

Blood, sweat, tears.

These are all the characteristics of a war. Yes, although it involves other things too this was what what mainly consisted of. These three things. No amount of training could ever prepare a person for war. Not the mental, nor the physical demands could ever really truly prepare a person. A person green behind the ears could walk in and naively think they could end this war with one single jutsu but that simply not the case. Unfortunately, that same young person could walk in a meet an untimely death. Why? Because they were too young to be on the battlefield and too inexperienced to sustain their own life. Yes, death in a war is a tragic death but it's a mean to an end. War doesn't give life it can only take it away.

As a mixture of blood and sweat oozed down his hiate and into his sunny, blond hair, the young man stiffened when he saw a yet another comrade get murdered. It was a gruesome sight. His young comrade, he couldn't remember the young chunnin's name, was not only dismembered but he was decapitated and stabbed over and over. The face was no longer recognizable. He was now staring at the blank, hollow hole where the young comrades' brown eyes used to be. He didn't even want to know where the eyes were. More than likely, they were probably squished during decapitation.

16 year old Namikaze Minato gulped but maintained his stoic expression. There were no tears for a fallen comrade. Death was all a part of shinobi life. Every shinobi was taught early on that anytime they stepped on the battlefield could possibly be the last.. Shinobi were to used as a tool. During a war age didn't matter. Although he had not seen any children on the battlefield yet, he was sure it was bound to happen in the future if this war continued. As much as he repeated to himself that shinobi were tools, he still had this unshakable ideal that children shouldn't ever see the battlefield? Was he wrong for thinking that?

As the looked over at his other kicking and breathing comrades, Minato felt detached from the entire scene. He felt like this wasn't real. Almost dream like. He looked to the sky. The sun was shining brightly and there were a few hints of gray clouds in the distance. He could hear the birds chirping despite the loud explosions. It was seemingly a storybook setting for couples but today this majestic scene was the setting of a major battle.

This had been his first assignment in months.. But, the third Great Shinobi War continued raging on. He was a Jounin, of course, but this was the first time he had ever set foot on the battlefield. As he looked back over once again at his fallen comrade,he realized that he too had made the same mistake his young, dead, decapitated, comrade had. He had came onto this with his own set of ideas, his own beliefs, he too had fallen to the ideal of he could end this was with one jutsu. Ironically, it was because he had finally cracked his original jutsu just a few days ago that made him think there could finally be an end to this war. Someday.

Speaking of jutsus, he had been working on his own original for months until he cracked it. It was just a primary transportation jutsu but cracking it took some time. It involved sealing which was a subject he excelled at but the fact of the matter was he had been hesitant about trying it out. The jutsu virtually required no charka. But, it was the fact that he had to manipulate the flow of time that made the jutsu that much harder to crack. When he had showed it to his mentor, Jiraiya, the toad sage thought it was the faster version of the Body flicker Technique. He had to sit down and explain to the perverted sage that his jutsu was not the Body Flicker but something faster, more useful. By manipulating the flow of time, Minato could appear anywhere that was laced with his seal. Now, if only he could master it.

While trying to crack his other jutsu, he had stumbled upon making another original jutsu just in case his transportation one didn't work out. It was a bright, blue, chakra coated sphere of light. He didn't know what to call it just yet but whatever it was it was going to be called would be feared throughout the ninja world.

But for right now, he was just going to call it something generic.

'Blue thunder.' No,

'Blue Sphere?' No.

'Blue Ball.' Yes. That would do for now.

The new name of his awesome jutsu for right now would be called 'Blue Ball.'

Yes, he had to prepare his enemies for the blue ball.

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From the corner of his eye, he saw an opening. He didn't know how he could have gotten so lucky to get an opening after all this time but he surely was going to take it.

On the battlefield, an opening means the difference between life and death. As he jumped over the numerous dead bodies of enemies he had taken down, he quickly summoned the famed blue sphere of light. Just as he was about to connect, he saw a small smile pass over his enemies face. He noticed it just in time to see the man quickly making different hand signals. He recognized a couple but the man simply was too fast for the eyes to see.

'Incredible.'

He had side stepped his blue ball was if it was child's play. Minato quickly created another blue ball just in time to meet another slew of hand signals but this time the man didn't sidestep.

He disappeared in the middle of a black gaping hole. The last thing he saw of his enemy was a dark robe with red clouds on the sides.

It was then Minato noticed what the man's plan he been all along. He was the target.

He barely had time to register the cries of protests from his comrades as he disappeared in a huge burst of white light.

It was safe to say, he wasn't in Konoha anymore.

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**A/N: Actually this plot came to me in a dream. I don't know if it sounds like anyone else story or plot but this was just something I needed to get down. I apologize for any spelling mistakes or bad grammar. Speaking of which, I am also looking for a beta for this story. Send me a message if you are interested. Read and review let me know if I should continue.**


	2. Chapter 2:The Other Blond of Konoha

Chapter 2:

The _Other_ Blond of Konoha

The sound of obnoxious birds greeted him before he opened his eyes. Pain. As he struggled to open his eyes, he felt the distinct feeling of being accidentally hit by one of Tsunade's chakra punches. Painful.

A bright blue sky that matched his eyes greeted him as he struggled unsuccessfully to stand. The first thing he noticed was not only there was no one where his team should have been but there was no sign of there having been a war in this area. Before he got caught in the enemy jutsu, there had been bodies everywhere. But, now looking around there was no indication of the bodies he once saw.

'What's going on?'

For the first time in his life, Namikaze Minato was confused.

As he stumbled once again and tasted the sweet taste of dirt, he noticed that there was no chakra in his body. He struggled from the ground again.

'Chakra exhaustion' he thought instantly.

He, of course, never had chakra exhaustion. But he had heard about it. His mentor, Jiraiya, talked about chakra exhaustion whenever he came back from doing his 'research.' or whenever he tried to outrun the women at the bathhouse.

As he stumbled slowly into another clearing, he noticed a young man laying on the ground. Even though he could see him from a distance he guessed it was a Nara. The Nara clan had a notorious reputation of being extremely lazy but absolute geniuses. Minato limped over to young man figuring it was only his team Shikaku Nara.

"Being lazy again, Shikaku" Minato teased.

The young man sat up and turned around. His brown eyes were calculating and lazy all at the same time. Minato stumbled once again but this time it was in surprise.

This wasn't the Nara that was on his team. As a matter of fact, there was only one in the village Nara who stared vividly at the clouds. So...

'Who was this kid?'

The young man must have been thinking the same thing because the next thing he knew he was pinned against the ground with a kunai pointed at his throat. Minato looked at young man again. From his vantage point, he could obviously see that this young man was NOT his comrade and friend, Nara Skikuku. The young man had on a chunin headband but he had never seen this young man before.

'Who was this kid? And why was he calling this guy a kid?'

For the second time today, Namikaze Minato was confused.

"Who are you?" the unknown Nara hissed holding the kunai steady against his throat.

Minato held his hands up in surrender and fixed the young man with his trademark bright grin. If he didn't have chakra exhaustion then he knew the Nara wouldn't be able to touch him.

"It's not polite to ask someone's name without giving yours first."

The Nara continued to glare lazily him until he finally released the grip on the kunai.

"Man this is going to be a drag" the Nara moaned as he took a cigarette from his Chunin vest.

As he continued to lay against the ground, considering the fact he was too exhausted to move, Minato wondered about the Nara who was now staring at him in recognition. He wanted to glare back and ask his what his problem was but he decided to refrain from upsetting someone who could kill him. So instead of asking the Nara if he had a problem with him, he asked another question that had entered his mind since he saw the young man.

"Do you happen to be any relation to Nara Shikuku?" Minato asked uncertainly.

Minato watched as the Nara took a drag of his cigarette. The Nara fixed him with yet another glare but this time the glare wasn't an venomous as the one he was graced with when he entered the clearing.

Before the Nara could answer, the rustle of trees caught his attention. Even though he couldn't move or use chakra he was glad to see his shinobi skills were still intact.

He whipped his eyes to where the sound was coming from.

Another young man with brown hair and a very _rotund_ body entered the clearing. It only took Minato a second to realize that this young man had to be a member of the Akimichi clan. That in itself was strange. Just like the Nara he had just encountered, this Akimichi wore a chunin uniform. And just like the Nara, Minato did not know this young man.

With that revelation, a funny thought entered his head.

He had traveled to the past.

He figured that was the only reason why he didn't recognize the young man.

He watched the young Akimichi berate the Nara about being late for some kind of meeting, he was glad the young man hadn't noticed him yet.

He had just finished that thought when the Akimichi finally noticed him and just like the Nara, the Akimichi stared at him and then his eyes widened in disbelief.

"Who are you?" Minato asked the young man stoically.

The Akimichi continued to stare at him. But now his eyes were the size of dinner plates. The Akimichi turned to the Nara and then back to Minato and then back to the Nara.

'This is frustrating.'

"We must tell Hokage-sama about this." the Akimichi blurted.

'Finally a brilliant idea.' Minato thought sarcastically.

Minato watched as the Nara scratched his head lazily and glance back up at the clouds. His brown eyes were the eyes of one of concern and wonderment all in one.

"Man, I can't have one day off. This is such a drag."

Minato watched as the Nara approached him cautiously. Once he got within arm distance of him, the Nara gestured for the Akimichi to come over to help.

"He looks like ..." the Akimichi began before he cut his sentence short as they dragged Minato to his feet.

'Look like who?' Minato thought to himself.

The Nara lifted his eyebrow but didn't say anything.

The two young men dragged Minato to his feet. He thanked the two men and they turned to him with suspicious gazes.

"We'll take him to the Hokage" the Akimichi suggested. The Nara shrugged nonchalantly.

For once he agreed with the Nara, this day was really turning out to be a drag.

0o0o0o0o0o

As they approached the gates of Konoha, Minato finally released the breath he didn't even know he had been holding. Finally, he was home.

After the two young men dragged him to his feet, they had discovered the he could not move on his own. He had politely told them three times that he had chakra exhaustion, but of course they ignored him.

After all, who really listened to the prisoner?

After a much heated debate, they finally decided that Minato would be carried to Konoha on the Akimichi's back. Minato, for one, felt uncomfortable about being carried considering the fact that he was always the one carrying his comrades after a fight. All he could say was not only was an embarrassing sight, it was a humiliating and humbling sight.

He silently vowed that he would never be carried again.

-0o0o0o0o0

As they finally walked through the gate, Minato turned and noticed the two chunin who were guarding the gate. They too, gaped at Minato in astonishment.

He sighed. He was really tired of people staring at him like that.

"Do we take him to the Hokage Tower or the hospital? The Akimichi called 'Choiji' asked the Nara. The Nara looked back at Minato for a second. Minato gave his brightest and non threatening smile.

The Nara didn't smile back. In fact, he just stared back at Minato as if he hadn't smiled at all. He stared as if he had just asked him if the sky was blue or something.

"The Tower" he replied turning back to 'Choiji.'

As they walked down the street to the tower, Minato glanced upward to the place that had always brought him peace. The Hokage Mountain. It was his dream to become a Hokage, where he could protect everyone and be respected. Hokage was the ultimate job. His ultimate dream.

As he looked up to the '_three_ faces,' he gaped in surprise.

Not only there was two faces other faces that weren't there before,one of those faces he recognized.

It was his own face.

To say he was shocked was an understatement.

0o0o0o0o0

As they walked into the waiting area of the tower, Minato was caught in a state of disbelief and euphoria. The disbelieving side of him thought this was some kind of genjutsu or a ploy by one of the enemies who had kidnapped him. The euphoric side of him was jumping for joy. He was Hokage. Life was good.

As they approached the desk,Minato noticed at least the waiting area was still the same. The floor still held the same brown shaggy carpet and the same plastic plants still occupied the left corner. He had given the Third those plants as a Christmas gift one year. He was glad to see that he still kept them even though he was Hokage.

'But, wait? If his face was on the mountain then that must be mean he was in the future. Not the past right?'

Just as soon as the thought entered his mind, Minato shook his head in disbelief disregarding the thought. There was no way to suddenly travel to the future, right?

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the secretary dropping her scrolls onto her desk. She was an older woman with brown eyes and a very forgettable face.

She continued to gape like a fish on dry land.

Minato watched in amusement as the secretary continued to gape but this time she dropped her head into a bow.

'Eh, now this was becoming very weird.' he thought.

The Nara turned to the woman and started speaking in low tones. The secretary glanced back at Minato and then back to the Nara.

"Of course you can see the Hokage. This is important."

Before, he could ask what was going on, the Akimichi abruptly turned and walked the short distance to the Hokage office. The Nara knocked twice. Something that sounded like a grunt replied back. The Nara slowly opened the door.

Minato frowned.

'Why was this Nara acting like he was afraid to open the door? It's only the Sandaime.'

As Choiji turned the corner, Minato noticed a flash of white hair.

'Oh great'. He thought gloomily.

'His perverted sensei was going to say something about him getting captured and waking up on the outskirts of Konoha.'

"Wait where's the Sandaime?" he blurted as he looked around the room. The elderly Third Hokage and his pipe was nowhere to be seen.

The white haired super pervert turned around slowly. Said pervert eyes opened widely. His mouth dropped open. His expression looked similar to the same toads he had the summons contract with. Minato opened his mouth to speak when he noticed the blond haired lump that was laying face-down at the Hokage desk.

He couldn't believe it.

He hadn't seen her since the Second Shinobi War. He had only been a child during this time but he vividly remembered her face. It couldn't be.

Tsunade, one half of the Legendary Sannin ,the Legendary Sucker, was Hokage?

Apparently hell must have frozen over while he was captured.

'Where was the Sandaime? Surely, he didn't pick Tsunade as Hokage. Orochimaru was the Sandaime's favorite. So, why was it Tsunade sitting in this chair?'

What the heck was going on?

"Who are you? Who sent you?" Jiraiya replied sharply.

"Sensei, wha-"

And just like that before he could finish his statement, the door banged open loudly waking the still sleeping blonde Hokage. A pile of important looking documents hit the floor. As soon as the papers hit the floor, Tsunade, the Sannin awakened.

"Wha-" Tsunade grumbled looking around at the very unwelcome group of people standing in her office.

Minato watched as the blonde Hokage did what everyone in Konoha had done ever since he arrived in Konoha. She stared at him. Hard. As if she was willing him to burst into flames.

Minato, while still on the back of Choji turned to the thing that had interrupted his conversation with his sensei.

0o0o0o0o0

Spiky, blond hair, bright sapphire eyes greeted him as he noticed the_ other_ blond in the room.

He gaped at the young man.

He was the spitting image of himself. The same face greeted him every morning in the mirror. He didn't have a twin brother as far as he knew. Who was this kid? And why was he wearing that god awful orange jumpsuit?

"Granny Tsunade, I-"

The _other_ blond finally snapped his mouth closed and then noticed him in the room. He gaped at him. Minato gaped back.

For the fourth time or was it the fifth today, Minato was confused.

Who was this blond and why did he possess his face?

The room was quiet as everyone waited for the blond to speak. The orange and blond explosion expression finally changed.

Minato inadvertently felt a chill run down his spine.

'What the heck was this kid?'

He had just finished his thought when the other blond jumped across the room and tackled him and Choji to the floor.

"Dad?"

'Dad?'

"What the-?"

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** I figured this would be a good place to stop without giving too much away.I'm still looking for a beta so please send me a message if you are interested.. Before you flame me, Jiraiya is still alive in my fic. I happen to like the pervert, therefore he is in this story. Thank you everyone who has put this story on alert or saved it as a fav. Hopefully this story has captured your interest...if not I apologize..**

** Now that Naruto has met the Yondaime, what's going to happen next? R&R..**

**I'm not begging for reviews but they do inspire me to write faster so you know the drill click that little button at the bottom, I'm sure it doesn't bite :-)  
**

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_next chapter:_ _Uzumaki meets Namikaze_


	3. Chapter 3:Who are you?

**_Chapter 3:_**

**_Who are you?_**

.-~~-.

"Dad"

That was the last thing he heard after he was knocked unconscious from the blow he and Choiji took from his 'twin.' By him being unable to move due to chakra exhaustion, Minato couldn't stop the free-fall that eventually led to him being unconscious. Not only was he unable to stop himself from falling, but he was also helpless to stop the 325 pound young man who had been carrying him around all morning. As he fell in what seemed like slow motion, Minato heard the firm crack as it resounded throughout the room as he banged the back of his head against the Hokage desk.

The last thing he saw was the blond as he stood over him. Again, with him quickly losing consciousness he was awed by the similarities of him and the other blond. The blond's lips were moving but he couldn't hear what he was saying. The only thing Minato could hear was the roar of blood in his ears and darkness quickly enveloped him.

'Where am I?'

0o0o0o0

His blue eyes snapped open as he suddenly regained consciousness. The pain he felt after he 'accidentally' collided with the desk was no longer there as he took in his surroundings.

The lone dim light in the center of the room was a dead giveaway of where he was. The damp smell of musk, and morning breath lingered in the air, overwhelming his senses.

As he went to draw a hand to his head in contemplation of what exactly happened, he noticed that he was handcuffed to the chair. Why he was handcuffed to the chair he didn't exactly know but one thing he knew for sure, he had to get out of this room. If the dim light was intimidating then the smell of morning breath was an absolute killer.

He wondered how long he had been in this room. Was it days? Weeks? Months? Was this all some sort of dream? Genjutsu? Illusion?

The sound of the door opening drew his attention from his analysis of his surroundings. He raised his eyes just in time to notice one the most beautiful women he had ever seen approaching him. With platinum blonde hair in a high ponytail, full pouty lips, and bright baby blue eyes, this woman may had possibly been one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen period. Even at the age of 16 and with the re-known super pervert, Jiraiya, as his sensei Minato was still afraid to approach a woman. Whether it was a stroke of bad luck or the miscalculation of genetics,Minato was shy to approach any woman.

His teammate, Inochi had joked that he would die a virgin.

As he took in his surroundings. he was sad to think that maybe his teammate was right.

The beautiful blonde sat down in a chair across from him, her bright eyes watching his every move with a cool, disinterested gaze. Even though her eyes were calm and seemingly carefree Minato understood her body language. Her body language was tense and threatening. He understood as soon as she sat down that this was not going to be a pleasant experience. For whatever reason, the Hokage had sent this woman in to interrogate him or rather make him suffer whichever came first.

She fixed him with a firm glare and tossed a file onto the table nearly hitting him square in the face.

"Who are you?" she asked coldly.

Minato returned her glare but didn't say a word. After the unusual greeting at the tower, he had came to the assumption that it would be best to keep his mouth closed.

Before the other blond knocked him unconscious, he couldn't get over the way his sensei and the rest of the villagers stared at him in awe and incredulously.

The blonde slammed her hand against the tabletop and startled him out of his stupor.

He glared the blonde in annoyed look.

He remained quiet purposely ignoring the blonde woman's question.

"I asked you a question. Who are you?"

Minato glanced at the woman again but still remained quiet. The woman glared back him but this time her eyes seemed to be tinted with a amusement. For a second, Minato was reminded of a young woman from his village who went by the name of 'Tomato'. With fiery red hair and a pretty much snappish attitude towards everyone, Minato was pretty sure this woman was the same.

The blonde stood up and crossed the room and grabbed him by the collar of his Jounin vest. he peered into those deep blue eyes that seemingly tried to bore a hole through him. He remained firm and didn't waver. He wasn't a Jounin for nothing.

"Since you won't answer my question, I'll ask another one." she commented smoothly. "Why are you impersonating a Hokage? Don't you know that is considered treason as well as many other things? Have you no respect for the dead?"

That last little comment caught his attention. He had been basically ignoring the interrogation bull***t until the cunning little kunoichi said something that piqued his interest.

"What do you mean respect for the dead?" he asked slowly, weighing his words.

If he wanted to make it out of here to find out what the hell was going on, then he would need to gather as much information as possible and then decide how to proceed. All shinobi was taught this method. To look underneath the underneath.

The kunoichi smiled.

Her blue eyes twinkled triumphantly as she finally got a word out of him.

"Oh you don't know? You impersonating the greatest shinobi that ever graced this village. I wouldn't be surprised if the counsel decided to execute you for such a crime"

Minato mentally flinched.

Not only did he find out everyone thought he was impersonating a Hokage but he was going to be executed for this 'crime.'

This day really was turning out to be a drag.

0o0o0o0

Yamanaka Ino was usually a person who enjoyed surprises. Usually surprises for her included dinner dates, jewelry, and possibly the occasional shopping spree, but today had been one of the biggest surprises she had gotten in a very long time.

When she had been summoned to the Hokage tower, she had assumed the Hokage was sending her to go on yet another seduction mission. She had already did a mental calculation on how much lingerie she would have to buy for this mission. Frankly, she was tired of being sent on seduction missions, but she also admitted that she liked having her ego stroked.A large part of her liked the fact that the Hokage thought she was the best kunoichi in Konoha to send for a seduction mission. Unlike the large green eyed, forehead girl she had called her best friend.

Imagine her surprise to find out that she was not going on a seduction mission but rather she was being sent to the interrogation room to question a potential spy.

The amber eyed Hokage hadn't given her many details. She simply told Ino that she wanted her to use her clan's technique to peer into the mind of this 'spy.' Since they were in the middle of war, Tsunade simply didn't want to waste any time finding out who this person was. Her words to Ino had simply been to look so far into his mind that she would know what the man had ate last week for lunch.

Imagine her even bigger surprise when she opened to door to notice another blonde in the room. For a second, she thought she was looking at Naruto.

With long ,spiky sunny blond hair and a chiseled face, Ino thought the Hokage was playing a joke or testing her patience.

When the man at the table finally looked up and finally opened his eyes, she was startled to notice that this was NOT her loud knucklehead friend, Naruto.

The resemblance was uncanny.

As she opened the file and read the contents her eyes opened slightly. This man was attempting to impersonate the greatest shinobi that had ever lived.

'This man was claiming to be the Yondaime? This guy had to be an idiot'

She mentally groaned as she took a seat and tossed the file onto the table. unconsciously annoying the prisoner who was now peering at her curiously.

Ino had to admit she was always one for a pretty face. And to say this guy was hot had to be somewhat of an understatement. She had to remind herself that she was in the middle of an interrogation. Now was NOT the time to be flirting with her prisoner. She had a job to do. The sooner she broke him, I mean, _question_ him then the sooner she could be on her way. She wanted to get to the nail salon before it closed.

As she ran through the usual line of questioning, Ino was taken aback with the way the blond prisoner seemed to be ignoring every single word she was saying.

If one thing Ino hated, that was being ignored.

She had to break this guy down before she could enter his mind. By rattling him a bit, that simply made her job easier. By doing this she could enter his mind and get this job over as soon as possible. She didn't want to be here any longer than necessary with the Naruto look alike.

A bright idea came to her. If this man was impersonating a kage then he obviously had no shame. To impersonate the dead was a horrible thing. As far as she was concerned, the good looking blond could burn in hell. In her line of work, some lines weren't meant to be crossed and impersonating a kage was near the top of the list along with trying to keep sake from Tsunade. She peered at the man owlishly and asked the question that had been on her mind since she had read his file. If she wanted to break this man down, now was the time to strike. She was already thinking of which top coat she wanted her on her nails once she got to the nail salon.

"Why are you impersonating a Hokage? Don't you know that is considered treason as well as many other things? Have you no respect for the dead?"

The young man shifted and then his mouth opened. Finally, she had broken his silence. He peered at her curiously.

"What do you mean respect for the dead?" he asked.

Her years as a shinobi had trained her to be emotionless during an interrogation but she couldn't help but to wonder if astonishment at the question the young man posed.

Did he know he was impersonating a kage or was this simply a case of mistaken identity?

She really didn't know nor did she care. All she cared about was cracking this case so she could make it back home. She silently cursed her father for being stuck on a mission in the middle of Kami knows where..If he had been here then she wouldn't have to peer into this young man's mind, after all she had more important things to do.

She ignored the man's question. She simply turned her head and made the hand signs needed for her family jutsu.

The blond man was in the process of opening his mouth once again when she turned around and locked eyes with his casting the jutsu. His head slammed into the table as he was rendered unconscious.

The sound of a door opening distracted Ino for a split second.

The last thing she needed was someone breathing down her back for not using her jutsu earlier. She simply didn't have the time nor the patience to deal with someone telling her how to do her job.

The door opened slowly to reveal the face of one smiling, Mitarashi Anko. The violent, violet haired woman glanced at the blond who was now face-down on the interrogation table. The former snake charmed nodded her head in approval before she rolled the sleeves of her brown jacket.

Ino sighed as she put her hands to the_ victim_, I mean, prisoner's head.

With Anko helping out with the interrogation, this was going to make her day a hell of a lot easier.

0o0o0o

As he walked the streets of Konoha, Hatake Kakashi felt a chill run down his spine. He had been away on a mission and was glad to finally be home. As an orange porn novel dangled in his hands, he made his way to the Hokage tower to file a mission report. Normally, he would be 3 hours late but the blonde, busty Hokage had sweetly threatened him with dismemberment if he dared to be late again with his mission report.

A strong gust of wind blew against his face wiping away the unpleasant memory of a very pissed off Hokage after his last mission report. Not only did she break her desk in half but she had also given him a concussion after she threw his body out to the window.

He guessed that his mission report hadn't been long enough or more detailed.

Kakashi had never been one for details.

Usually his mission reports consisted of no more than one paragraph. After all, he was a busy elite shinobi. The Hokage didn't really expect him to actually sit down and write out a full length report? Did she?

He had simply thought the one lined mission report had been more than enough to satisfy the Hokage.

But he had guessed wrong.

She simply didn't understand the one lined sentence of "we saw some shit" applied to the overall conclusion of the entire mission. After all, they did see shit.

0oo0oo0

The smell of ramen invaded his senses as he walked past the popular restaurant where his blond haired student seemed to live.

He peered into the restaurant and sure enough the blond loudmouth ninja he had come to love was sitting in his favorite spot at the counter. But, the blond seemed different somehow. He wasn't eating. The blond simply sat at the counter picking at the noddles his blue eyes a million miles away.

Kakashi debated on whether or not he should do the right thing and find out what was wrong with is teammate. After all, that was what teachers did right?

He walked into the cafe and was immediately greeted by the daughter of the owner of the establishment. The young woman was pretty enough but she simply wasn't his type. Plus, he speculated that the only reason she even gave him the time of day was because she had seen what was under the mask he wore at all times. The last thing he needed was a mob of fan-girls behind him like the ones his other student seemed to have around him at all times. He was an elite shinobi damn-it, not some pretty boy underwear model.

He took the seat next to his student and took a moment to absorb the unusual silence. His student was not himself. Usually the blond would have talked him to death by now but he hadn't. In fact, his student hadn't said anything to him from the moment he had sat down.

"Naruto?"

His sapphire eyes snapped out of his trance.

He brought his hand sheepishly to the back of his neck and fixed Kakashi with a smile. Kakashi didn't have to activate the sharingan to know that this smile was fake. His student had recently developed the habit of hiding his emotions. He didn't have the heart to tell Naruto that he was indeed very bad at it and that his face was like an open book.

"Kakashi-sensei, when did you get here?'" the blond nine tails container asked.

"Just now." the silver haired Jounin replied tiredly. "I saw you looked pretty down when I was walking by and wondered what was wrong. What is it now? Did Sai make a comment about your dick... again?"

The blond's face flushed a deep red in annoyance. He shook his head his bright sunny locks touching his shoulders.

"No, Kakashi-sensei that's not it"

Now the copy cat ninja was curious. Something big must have happened in order for the blond not to be eating. Naruto's desire for ramen was similar to that of a black hole in space. No amount of ramen could satisfy him.

"What is it Naruto?"

The blond took a deep breath and moved to his lips to answer but nothing came out. He simply laid his head against the counter and proceeded to slam his head against it over and over.

"Stupid. stupid" he repeated over and over.

Now, the copy cat ninja was alarmed. His student ever acted this way. Something had to happen in order for his student to become a masochist while he was gone.

Something big.

Kakashi reached out a hand to stop the blond from inflicting even more damage to himself. The blond sat up and then turned to give him yet another sheepish grin.

Naruto was truly Konoha's number 1 most unpredictable ninja.

"My dad is back and really want to talk to him and..."

Kakashi was momentarily stunned.

The only words he had heard was 'my dad is back.' Everything else simply went in one ear and out the other.

'Naruto's dad was back? His sensei had died the day Naruto was born. There was_ no _possible way for him to suddenly be back.'

Kakashi held up a hand to pause the still blabbering blond. Maybe he hadn't heard him correctly. After all he was getting older.

"Naruto, I want you to repeat that again but this time slowly"

The blond took a shaky breath trying to prepare himself to retell his story.

"My dad is back and...Kakashi sensei where are you going?"

The sliver haired elite shinobi jumped to his feet and walked out of the front door of the restaurant leaving a speechless blond nine tailed container behind.

Not only did he leave his empty bowl behind he also left leaving the blond to pay for his meal.

Yep, Hatake Kakashi was a stand up guy.

0o0o0o0o

Tsunade was in her office about to enjoy herself with her usual bottle of afternoon sake when she felt a familiar chakra signature outside of the window.

Inwardly she smiled, her threats of dismemberment had finally gotten through to the copy cat ninja. She had finally did what no one else had ever been able to do. She had finally gotten the great Hatake Kakashi to her office without being hours late.

"Damn it Kakashi, how many times do I have to tell you to use the door" the blonde Hokage roared.

Sure enough outside the window, the familiar silver haired ninja appeared. He opened the window and slid his slim body over the ledge.

His mask was firmly in place but she could see the twinkle in his eyes that she knew had to be a smirk.

"Yo" he waved.

Tsunade stared at the young man. For all of his accomplishments in the ninja world, she had assumed that Hatake Kakashi was one of the most socially retarded people she had ever met and that was really saying something. Not only did he walk around with his face buried in an explicit porn novel but he proceeded to unleash his love for the smut on unsuspecting civilians and children.

Tsunade shook her head.

She was not in the mood for any of Kakashi's antics today. She had a meeting with the council later on today which was why she was already taking the time to get buzzed before the meeting. Plus the whole teen Yondaime thing didn't help matters at all. The whole situation was weird and beyond bizarre.

'Why did she take this job again?'

As he stood before the blond kage, Kakashi had a million different thoughts running through his mind. He had questions that needed to be answered simply but he didn't want to give in the minuscule flicker of hope that his sensei was still alive knowing full well that he should be dead.

He took a deep breath and began to ask the question that seem to press against his brain like an annoying splinter.

"Hokage-sama is true that..."

Before he could finish his sentence, the door slammed open revealing one Ino Yamanaka and his only female student of team 7, Haruno Sakura.

Both women were pale and there seemed to be blood splattered on the pink haired kunoichi's white medic coat.

"Lady Tsunade come quickly the prisoner has had a seizure."

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

**So what do you think?**

**This chapter was longer than the others I have written so far. Thank you so much for all the people who have read the story,reviewed, saved it as an alert/fav. Your comments are greatly appreciated..Please continue to review and I will hopefully continue to write this story.**

**I'm still looking for a beta...Write me if you're interested.**


	4. Chapter 4: The Father, The Son,

**Chapter 4:**

**The Father, The Son, and the Nine Tails  
**

.~.~.~.~

Normally Haruno Sakura didn't feel much sympathy for anyone.

Sure, as a medic nin she felt_ empathy_ for other people but she didn't sympathize much. As a medic nin, her sensitivity chip was destroyed a long time ago along with the tooth-fairy, the Easter bunny, and the hope of bringing Sasuke home. But, sometimes, just sometimes, it crept up on her making her feel guilty for not showing much sympathy to anyone. At the current moment, she felt overwhelming wave of sympathy for the young prisoner who was now laying on the hard, cold table where medic after medic tried to pump chakra into the lifeless, limp body. The emotion or rather desperation to save the young man seemed to envelop everyone. Especially the normally drunk Hokage.

"Lady Tsunade, he's stable now."

The golden haired, shapely hokage stepped forward and scanned the young man's body once again with medical chakra. Her once alert face was paled and her eyes worried. Even though she wouldn't say she was worried the evidence was written all over her face like a snow-cone in the desert.

"Sakura, you take watch over him and if anything happens you call me. Got it?"

The rose haired young woman bowed.

"Yes, Lady Tsunade"

As the door slammed marking the exit of the blond Hokage. Sakura turned back to the young patient who was still laying old the hard table unconscious. For the first time since he had been brought in she finally took a look at the man who was claiming to be the Yondaime. She had to admit the young man did look like her blond teammate.

'But what was the connection?'

When the young man was brought in three days ago, Naruto had been there. Waiting. For three days straight without fail. She didn't get it. Naruto was here to see the man who had unceremoniously ruined his childhood? Was she the only one who thought that was weird. And the more the she thought about it. Kakashi sensei had been here too. He had told her that he had been there only to intervene if Naruto tried to kill the other blond but somehow she knew he was lying. It wasn't a feeling. It was like she knew. She was definitely missing something. Some factor she hadn't thought about. And she was going to figure it out. Because if it was one thing she hated was being left out.

0o0o0o0

As the exited the restroom after a much needed potty break, she noticed her hyperactive teammate huddled in a corner with his head lowered as if someone had kicked his puppy. He looked up and his eyes widened slightly. She didn't have to be a genius to know what the blond was going to ask.

"Sakura-chan, how is he doing?" the once lively blond whispered.

The pink haired kunoichi made a face. It was against hospital policy to give out personal information without the consent of the family. As far as she knew the young man didn't have any family or any relatives, so it wouldn't hurt to let it slip that the young man was still alive for now.

"He's stable Naruto."

Relief showed in her teammates blue on the other hand,she frowned. She hadn't seen him this way since the day he defeated Pain. As a matter of a fact, he didn't even make a face like that when she told him that she loved in that forest that one time when she had made the decision to finally off Sasuke... As a matter of fact...

"That's good" he whispered.

Sakura green eyes narrowed. Naruto was feeling relief from hearing that the young man was still alive. '_What was he thinking?_'

"Sakura-chan, can I see him?"

She stared at the blond incredulously. Did he really want to see this young man or did he want to kill him himself? After all, Kakashi-sensei had mentioned that he was here to calm the blond down if he happened to get too rowdy. As a matter of fact, where was Kakashi-sensei?

"Sakura-chan, Sakura- chan?"

"What, Naruto?" she asked annoyed.

"Can I see him?" he asked softly.

As long as Naruto didn't try to kill the unconscious blond, then things would be okay. After all he just wanted to see him for a second right? What's the worse that could happen?

After all it's only Naruto.

0o0o0o0

Red. Crimson.

That was the only thing he could see for miles around. Blood red water droplets fell from the sky as if the Earth was crying tears of blood.

Faces of people he once knew floated all around him like images from the world's most terrifying nightmare.

'_Was this some type of enemy genjutsu_?'

Where was this place?

A wailed ripped through the air as he looked down. Blood covered his hands and a small bundle was in his arms.

Slow moving red tears moved down the infants' face.

"Minato. Minato" a voice croaked.

On the ground lay a red haired woman and blood covered her in entirety. Her violet eyes focused as he took a step back. He had never seen this woman before. Who was she and how did she know his name?

"Minato?"

There it was again. The sound of someone calling his name...

He turned around and there was no one there. A faint breeze rustled his hair but there was no wind...

'_Where did the red haired woman and the bodies go?_'

A deep chuckle of laughter sounded through the air. A feeling of dread logged into his throat surrounding him. Suffocating him. The air itself was full of malice as if death was unavoidable.

He glanced down once again at the bundle in his arms.

What he saw made him gasp in surprise..

He had only heard about it but he had never thought he would actually see it in existence.

The bundle in his arms was the kitsune version on the world's most powerful demon...

The nine tailed fox.

0o0o0o

From inside the emergency room, the machines were going crazy.

"Sakura-chan. what's going on? What's happening to him?"

The pink haired apprentice pushed the blond idiot aside. Now was not the time to be asking questions. If she didn't stabilize this patient then she would be the one dying. Not the prisoner.

"Sakura-chan? Sakura-chan?"

"Damn it, Naruto. Shut up and let me do my job" she snapped.

The blond reluctantly closed his mouth for the time being. The last thing he needed was to be punched by Sakura or Tsunade.

"Naruto! Naruto!"

.

.

.

.

.

After the fifth shriek the blond finally snapped out of his stupor.

Sakura chan, what's happening?"

"Turn him on his side, Naruto. He could choke on his own vomit and die if we don't. He needs to be stabilized."

The blond immediately snapped to action. For the first time since the reappearance of his father, Naruto felt like he was finally doing something. As his father flailed helplessly around in the bed Naruto set his jaw in determination and concentration.

He was going to help save his father. He wasn't going to let him go again.

0o0o0o

"You can step back now, Naruto. He's finally stabilized. He needs room to breathe."

"What is wrong with him Sakura-chan? Why is this happening to him?"

For a moment, Sakura debated whether or not she should tell her younger teammate the actual status of the patient. Naruto, who didn't even have any ties to the situation, albeit being sealed by the same man, shouldn't even been allowed into the room.

She had gone against hospital procedure.

She was now becoming as bad as Ino.

"Naruto, you know I can't share that information!" the pinkette snapped ferociously. The blond's blue eyes dropped sadly. Maybe she had gone a little too far that time. If hadn't been for Naruto then the patient would have died...again?

The last thing she needed was to explain to Naruto how clinically the patient should have been declared dead at least an hour ago. A messed up jutsu coupled with chakra exhaustion had pretty much screwed the patient. It would have been different if he didn't have chakra exhaustion but from her personal opinion as a medic, the poor man should have been declared dead a long time ago. The multiple seizures he had was any indication that his body had given up. Who were they to deny this man peace after so many tries?

0o0o0o

Five seconds later the door slammed open announcing the arrival of a very unhappy Tsunade.

This was it. Tsuande was going to kill her for not buzzing her when the patient had flat-lined again. As she tried to rummage through her mind for an excuse, she realized that she didn't have one. She had simply done what it took to save the patient even though she thought they were wasting hospital resources.

"What the hell happened, Sakura? I told you to call me if anything happened"

"I'm sorry, Lady Ts-"

"Save it. I do not want to hear it. And you!"She turned haphazardly to the other blond who was desperately trying to shrink in size in a nearby corner.

"What in the hell are you doing in here? This is a hospital room. There is no reason why anyone besides authorized hospital personnel should be allowed in this room. I don't see you wearing a medic uniform or a white coat so why in the hell are you here?"

"I wanted to talk to him" the once noisy blond said in an uncharacteristically soft voice.

The honey eyed Hokage expression softened. There was no way she could ever stay mad with her favorite blond brat but that wasn't an excuse.

"He's unconscious, Naruto. I'm sure he's just overflowing with things he want to share"

A ghost of a smile appeared on the blond's face.

"Naruto, I understand how you are feeling but right now is not the time. If there is any change I will send Jiraiya to find you"

Softly Naruto sighed but finally relented. He had been there three days and he was exhausted. If his dad woke up he would be the first to know right?

There were so many things he wanted to say to him. To show him. For the first time in a long time, Naruto felt that he wasn't alone. His father was here and things were finally going to turn how how they were supposed to be. He was finally going to have a family.

"Granny, can I say goodbye to him?" he asked the blond unexpectedly. Tsunade pat her favorite blond on the back and turned back to her patient.

"I am going to give you one minute to say what you have to say but right now he needs rest. Everybody out"

Sakura who had been quiet the entire time took a moment to finally speak up. "Lady Tsunade, why is Naruto able to speak to-" and with that the door closed behind her cutting of the flow of the conversation. Sakura walked over and opened the door where she was faithfully followed her teacher.

Naruto turned awkwardly to the man who now occupied the bed. This was his hero, albeit a little younger but still his idol. It wasn't until after the Pein incident that Tsunade and Jiraiya had both sat down and explained him to actions his father had taken. He hadn't done it out of malice but more-so out of love. His love for the village had surpassed his own for his own son and if that was one thing Naruto respected was the fact that his father had done whatever it took to save the village. In terms of a leader, Naruto respected his father but as a son he had to admit his father had screwed him over royally.

He cleared his throat. Even though his dad couldn't hear him he still had things he wanted to say.

"Dad,when I first met you during the Pein fight there were so many things I wanted to tell you. To ask you. The first thing I wanted to do was scream at you. Punch, maybe even kill you" he scratched his blond locks sheepishly.'_Wait he had already tried that_.'

"Oh sorry for punching you. I was upset considering the fact no one told me anything about you. But, now you're here and I finally have a shot at a family. I won't be alone anymore. I know it sounds childish but after meeting you that day...I worked hard every day to be a son you could be proud of..That someday when I see you again..That you would be proud of me. That I would be a son that would be worthy of your love.." He pushed aside the tears that was threatening to choke him.

"Dad, I'm leaving now. But, I will be here when you wake up, believe it."

The sound of steady beeping answered in response.

"Goodbye dad."

As the avid ramen connoisseur turned to leave, his conscience was clear for the first time in a long time. Somewhere deep inside he felt his father was going to be okay. He was going to pull through this. And after that they were going to go for a round of ramen. After all, that was the things fathers and sons did.

"You know it's never goodbye. It's always see you later"

Naruto turned in the direction of the familiar voice and smiled.

A orange perverted novel marked the entrance of the famed Copy Cat Ninja like a red suit on Santa Claus in the middle of Christmas Eve.

"You're right kakashi-sensei. See you later dad."

And like that the future 'Orange Hokage' was gone in a flash similar to that of his own father.

Kakashi turned back to the young man who was laying on bed. Deep inside he knew this man was his mentor, the father like figure who had been a stronghold after his own father committed suicide. He only hoped that once the secret of Naruto's paternity came out, things would get better not worse but something was telling him that things would get worse before they got better.

"See you later... sensei"

And with that the silver haired, openly closet pervert exited the room completely unaware of the occurrences that had been going on the entire time.

0o0oo

From inside now silent the room, a single finger twitched.

Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage of Konoha, had finally awakened.

0o0oo

"What?"

A loud bang sounded as a chakra infused punch broke apart an innocent desk courtesy of a very, very angry Tsunade.

"What do you mean he should be executed? Do you have any idea what you are saying?"

As she glared back at the three old wrinkled faces, Tsunade wanted to send a punch across the room that would spontaneously make them explode into little old people pieces. Not only were they talking about eliminating a possible 'past future kage' they were talking about it as if they were talking about a change in weather.

Not only was it sick but it was wrong in so many ways.

It absolutely disgusted her.

She would have gotten rid of the members of the council a long time ago by process of a crushed skull if Jiraiya hadn't talked her out of it.

If this man was really the Fourth then she would have happily handed over her hat until at least his son was ready to take over.

This job itself was troublesome.

Everyday it seemed a new problem seemed to appear out of nowhere and today was no different.

"He would be putting us in a position that we don't need right now. We are in the middle of a war. If the other villages found out that the Fourth was still alive the effects would be disastrous. Not only do we have to worry about Akatsuki taking the Nine Tails but now we have to worry about a resurrected kage and explaining to the villagers who the Uzumaki boy really is. There would be widespread panic." the old crone Koharu croaked.

As the old woman talked Tsunade felt a sudden urge to punch something namely the old woman but then again she had a point. There would be widespread panic if the village found out that the boy who had become the village scapegoat/punching bag was the son of the most honored shinobi in history.

She huffed to herself for a moment before she could answer.

"Is there any reason why you want to eliminate this man without even testing him for the possibility that he could be the Yondaime?"a new voice asked.

Tsunade turned to the sound of the voice. She would know it anywhere.

The white haired toad stage stepped forward.

"The council has no say on who can be eliminated. Only the Hokage has the authority to do that." the Itcha Itcha author spoke up.

Tsunade smiled.

So that's why she took the job. Not only to drink free sake but to boss people around. For a moment she was almost glad she took the job despite the fact that it was cursed.

"But..."

"But nothing" Tsunade said efficiently cutting the old councilwoman off like a samurai in the middle of a swords-battle.

"By decree as Hokage, this man is to be tested for the possibility of him being the Fourth. This will be an S class secret. This meeting is dismissed"

As the last of the council exited the room, Tsunade turned to the man she trusted more than anyone in the village.

He caught her eye and bowed his head in understanding.

They both knew the implications of informing the council about the possibility of the fourth being alive.

They had to get this man tested as quickly as possible.

With the Fourth being alive, he had put in son in the same danger he never wanted his son to be put in the first place.

Naruto, son the the Fourth Hokage and Red Hot-Blooded Habanero, was now in danger.

As she opened her desk drawer to retrieve something to ease her nerves a thought came to her mind.

Tsunade turned to the ANBU that was silently stationed outside her window.

"Summon Uzumaki Naruto and Hatake Ka-"

The sound of the emergency alarm she had installed for emergencies at the hospital buzzed cutting off her conversation with the young ANBU member who still was anticipating orders.

At the sound of the alarm, Tsunade was halfway to the hospital.

Every medic nin knew that a moment was the difference between life and death.

She had only hoped that when she got there she wouldn't be dealing with a death.

0o0o0

As she slammed opened the door to the hospital, the first thing she noticed was the silver haired masked perverted jounin talking with a rapidly talking Shizune.

"What's the situation? Why was the buzzer sounded and why in the hell is everyone just standing around?"

Shizune, apparently immune to the rude tone of voice from her master spoke up with a clear voice.

"Lady Tsunade, the young man is awake."

As Tsunade closed her eyes and sent up a silent prayer of thanks, she couldn't help but to feel like a dam had been broken.

All hell was going to break loose.

''''''''''''''''''''''''

_Sorry it took so long to update. I have currently been hiatus and was going to update August 1st but I couldn't help it... Thank you so much for the comments favorites and alerts. I was generally surprised when I saw the reviews. While this chapter may seem fluffy there is more to come. Things are going to go darker from here so please sit back and enjoy the ride. Still looking for a beta.. I hope you enjoyed the chapter...if not then sorry I disappointed you..I can always stop..  
_


	5. Chapter 5: Kushina

A/N: Sorry if it has taken so long to update. My little niece actually caught my right index finger in a car door where it ended up being fractured so I am typing this chapter out with the use of one hand. Sorry it is not longer but I will update again as soon as my finger heals. Also I was so surprised with the number of favs and alerts I have gotten, thanks so much for those. If it isn't too much I would like to ask people to review more. You don't have to but I thought it would be nice since I like reviews and feedback. Virtual cookies for those who review.

Someone asked me the setting to this fic. Well the setting is sometime after the Pain fight. Naruto is 17 and Minato is 16.

Also I would like to thank Imouto 12345 for the beta!

...

**Chapter 5**

**Kushina**

**~0o0o0o0~**

At the tender age of 17, Hinata Hyuga had finally lost her stutter. Sure, it reappeared sometimes whenever she encountered her former love/obsession Naruto Uzumaki. But, all of that was before she found her self confidence and her self worth. After the death of her father, Hinata had become a new person. For one, she put an end to her embarrassing habit of blushing and stuttering and instead she regained the demeanor of a calm, cool, collected heiress. she liked to think that if her father was alive today then he would be proud of the woman she had become. Somewhere she felt that he was smiling down on her (even though he never smiled) or tossing violently in his grave. Sadly it was the latter that helped her sleep at night.

As she walked the now quiet streets of Konoha, with her babysitter, I mean "bodyguard" following close behind, she saw something that made her stop in her tracks.

As his blond hair fell onto his shoulders and his mysterious blue eyes clouded over with uncertainty, a part of her, the once very shy Hinata wanted to run away and possibly hide. But, it was something about the look in his eyes told her that right now the blond really needed a friend to talk to or a strong drink. Either way, she could provide both if that was what he wanted.

"Naruto-kun?" she whispered softly.

Naruto's blue eyes snapped to attention.

"Hai, Hinata-chan, what are you doing out here this late? the blond responded his eyes unknowingly reflecting his innermost thoughts.

"Hanabi, wanted some ice-cream and a a a " she paused captivated by the blond who was staring at her attentively.

"Na-aa-ruto, kun-nn? she squeaked.

'_Where did that come from?_' she thought nervously to herself.

This wasn't how it was supposed to be. She was supposed to be a confident, proficient, well-spoken heiress. Not some palm sweating, stuttering shell of her once confident self. Sakura, Ino, and even Ten Ten didn't have trouble talking to men so why on Earth was she having such difficulty?

"Well, I'll let you get to that ice cream, Hinata-chan" the blond spoke again but this time gracing her with a fake smile.

The squeak she had secretly holding escaped, but this time it was in surprise. She knew Naruto had developed the habit of hiding his emotions. She found it kind of ironic that he never used to do that around her but then again he was never around her much to begin with.

_'Something is wrong_' she thought to herself. Naruto Uzumaki emotions were usually written upon his face like a billboard, but now it seemed Naruto was donning a new type of mask these days and unfortunately it wasn't the one for ANBU despite the fact that Naruto was trying to become a member of ANBU.

Good thing the ANBU members wore masks, she didn't have the heart to tell him that this mask of emotions or whatever this was the utmost fail.

"N-n n aruto, k-kun, if you need to t-talk, then I"

"Have you ever hurt someone you love?" the blond asked abruptly.

'_Oh boy._' she thought as she turned a deep shade of red. The many different ways she could answer that question was endless. If he had asked that question a couple of months ago, then her initial response would have been along the lines of 'No, Naruto-kun" I would never hurt you' but at this point in time she was different. She would NOT pass out in a dead faint in response to his question. She was going to answer this like the calm, rational adult she was. Not some overstimulated fangirl.

"No, I have never intentionally hurt the person I l- l-love" she responded blushing so hard that she would possibly break something. 'Darn it' she had almost made it without blushing.

Now the blond seemed somewhat interested and surprised. He was obviously thinking of the moment where she had confessed to him thinking she was going to die. Unfortunately she didn't think of the possibility that she would actually survive going head to head with Pain. After it was said and done Naruto had kept his distance. As a matter of fact...

"What do you do to show that person that it wasn't intentional?' he asked rocking back and forth on his heels anxiously.

Hinata eyed the blond incredulously. _' Wait?Was he always this dense? The answer should be obvious._'

"You a- a- apologize. If they are worthy of your lovvve then they would know it was n-n-never intentional" she finished lamely.

Naruto's blue eyes sparkled as if he had just had a epiphany.

"I know! I'll apologize so they'll know it wasn't intentional. I'll make them understand, believe it."

Hinata, on the other hand wanted to slam her head into a wall. Now she finally understood why Sakura was always hitting Naruto on the head. All that ramen really was bad for you.

"Thanks, alot Hinata chan" the blond haired demon container said with a blindly white smile.

He turned without another word and hopped along the roof humming happily, unknowing of the havoc he had just unleashed upon the once calm, cool, and collected heiress.

As he stepped out of the shadows, Neji Hyuga watched his cousin fall out in a dead faint.

'_That idiot_.' Now he had to carry Hinata and Hanabi's ice cream back to the compound on the other side of town.

"That Uzumaki just doesn't know what his smile does to her" he grumbled as he bent to pick up his fallen cousin. Even though Hinata looked light she seemed to weigh a ton.

'_She wasn't this heavy last time_.' he thought.

Tonight was fated to be a long night.

0o0o0o0o0

As he stared out forlornly out of the window Minato felt an overwhelming feeling of sadness. It had been bad enough that he had awoken in a hospital surrounded by people he didn't know. He had to figure out what exactly was going on here? Was this some type of enemy genjitsu or was something else altogether. Whatever it was he wanted out of this. It wasn't easy waking up in a hospital and finding not only one but two people standing over you calling you dad and sensei.

He had actually waken up when Tsuande had ordered everyone out the room. Her loud voice carried and ironically it carried all the way to his consciousness because he woke up very soon after. His sensei had always said that Tsunade was the loudest on their team but he never really understood that until now.

He brought a hand to his head trying to clear it. The last thing he remembered was talking to Tsunade inside the office and then getting knocked out by this blond clad in orange knocking him into a desk. The rest, however was a mixture blended together that it looked like the perfect cocktail for the insane asylum. It was bad enough Tsunade and Jiraiya didn't believe he was who he said he was. It was pretty much evident from the looks he received from the Sanniin duo inside the office before he was knocked out cold. Surely that wouldn't believe him if he told them that he had been holding an infant nine tailed demon fox and some red haired woman had been wailing his name the entire time while blood fell from the sky. That itself sounded just crazy. Did it?

Unexpectedly the door opened revealing yet another face he didn't know. This time it belonged to a pink haired young woman. It was something about her that seemed familiar but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Could you sit up while I take your vitals?" she asked tiredly.

As Minato leaned forward he felt a prick at his shoulder. '_What was that?_' he asked himself surprised.

"Sorry if I surprised you. I just needed to take a sample of your blood to make sure that your blood level has replenished."

Minato nodded his head slowly to inform her that he understood. The pink haired woman leaned over him and began taking his vitals. She took his temperature, pulse, blood pressure, and breathing.

After she finished and wrote some things on his chart, she looked back over at him. He hadn't said a word since she had come into the room. Which was weird for him. He was a friendly guy.

"How are you feeling?" she asked her green eyes sweeping over his form curiously.

"Tired"

The pink haired woman smiled. "That's pretty common after dealing with chakra exhaustion, you know."

Minato frowned.

For some reason he felt that this woman was lying to him. Minato had once considered himself an expert in reading people and by the tense slump of this young woman's shoulder he could tell she was lying whether she knew it or not.

"No, it is not common to feel unusually tired after chakra depletion"

The woman stopped writing and raised an eyebrow thoroughly surprised.

Minato scratched his head sheepishly. He wasn't trying to tell this young woman how to do her job. But, he knew that after chakra exhaustion the right medication coupled along with a great deal of rest chakra could be restored. But, right now he couldn't feel any chakra running through is veins. Minato knew his body. He had always been able to feel chakra no matter how tired he was.

"I can't feel any chakra..." he began.

The woman walked over and stood next him flipping through his chart hurriedly. Her eyes seemed to be glazed over in worry. Apparently that hadn't been on the chart because the look on her face could have melted stone.

"Sir, I-"

"The reason he can't feel chakra is because he is not completely healed" a voice said.

The curtain opened revealing the face of a very irritated Tsunade.

"Sakura, thank you taking the vitals. You can go now"

The pink haired woman named Sakura bowed and walked out of the door. Minato watched her go. There was something very familiar about the woman. He just couldn't put his finger on it right now. It was something about her that reminded him of someone else. Just who that person was he couldn't exactly remember.

"Can you sit forward while I check your chakra?" Tsunade said her own hands already glowing with green chakra.

Minato obliged in hopes of not pissing the blond haired woman off. He had seen the affects on the woman's power considering how much she used to beat his sensei. And it wasn't pretty.

"Tsuande, what-" he began.

"Shut up while I am working"she snapped.

Minato immediately snapped his mouth closed. He silently berated himself for interrupting the woman while she was concentrating. Hadn't Kushina told him about that plenty of times?

_'Wait? Who was Kushina?' _

He didn't know a woman by that name. Why had he thought of it at that moment? And why did he feel that he was missing or forgetting something very important?

And why on Earth did he feel like half of him was missing?

0o0o0o

As she ran her hands over his body with her chakra, Tsunade couldn't help but to wonder who exactly she was dealing with. Was this really her former teammate favorite student? Was this really the same charming young man she had meet years ago? The same man who had not only went on to marry the holder of the nine tails but sealed the same demon within his own son?

Jiraiya had been right in suggesting the blood test to the council. Hopefully the results of the tests would be ready later that day. When she had sent Sakura in earlier, she had sent her there to basically collect a blood sample but she didn't want to have to explain why she was taking a blood sample just in case this man wasn't who he said he was. Tsunade knew that if something was to happen then Sakura could easily subdue the young man in the bed whether by choice or by force. Too bad she couldn't tell Sakura what was really going on here. That the reason why the young man in the bed looked so much like Naruto was because he was really his father. That was a conversation she really didn't feel like having anytime soon. If the test confirmed that he was Minato then she knew all hell could possibly break lose. Naruto would be in immediate danger even though she knew Naruto was old enough to take care of himself.

Sigh. This job was really troublesome at times.

"Tsunade?" Minato asked looking up at the blond haired Hokage.

She fixed him with a firm glare for interrupting her thoughts and her work yet again.

"What is it?"

"My head hurts."

Tsunade's glare intensified tenfold. _'Was that all he wanted? Did he really just stop her to tell her that?_'

"What? Is that all?" she asked with a disapproving glare. She was five seconds from crushing him like a bug.

He looked back up at her. This time his blue eyes was filled with intense confusion.

"I feel like I am forgetting something. Something important. I"

Tsunade removed her hands and put her hands to her hips to prevent from slamming the young man into the wall. Hadn't he realized that he was here as a prisoner? That he wasn't allowed to ask questions? Was this boy really the man who had been hailed as a pure genius?

"I'm sure whatever it is. It'll come back to you. If it really was important then-"

"Tsunade, who is Kushina?"

Tsunade words died on her lips. She was absolutely flabbergasted.

'_Shit_.'

He remembered Kushina? Oh hell. Things had just went bad from worse a thousand times fold.

She pursed her lips and did the one thing she should have done at the beginning of this very ill timed conversation.

"Jiraiya, get in here!" she bellowed.

If this really was Minato and he was asking Kushina then she sure as hell wasn't going to be the one to tell him about her. It wasn't her place. Well okay as hokage it was but she simply didn't want to. This was all Jiraiya's territory. She would let him handle this mess.

She walked to the door and threw it open, startling the white haired pervert who had just been reaching for the door.

"He has questions. Get in there and answer them"

"But, Tsunade..."My re-"

Tsuande held her hand up and sent the white haired pervert a death glare. "If you dare say that you are on your way to research then I will not only castrate you but I will tie you to a tree and make you eat your own balls, baka!"

Said white haired pervert cowered in absolute fear. The last thing he wanted was to eat his own balls. He needed his balls. Thank you very much.

She sent him another glare but this time she took a step forward.

"Okay, I'll talk to him"

The blond smiled sweetly at her former idiot teammate. Jiraiya was finally going to get to the bottom of this mess and she was going to do the one thing she loved.

"If something happens call me. I need a drink."

0o0o0o0o0

As she stepped out into the cool night air, Tsunade felt the haze of the hospital slip away. She had always loved walking at night as a child. Her grandfather used to always take her for walks where they would sit on the mountain and point out all the constellations they could see.

She missed those days where life was uncomplicated. She had no responsibilities. No worries. She had no reason to worry as the honored granddaughter things were given to her on a silver platter. But, it had been her sensei that had showed her that she was more than just the granddaughter of the First Hokage, that she had the potential to be the best kunoichi in the world.

What happened to those days?

Where had time had gone?

She had so many plans when she was younger. She had planned on being married to her love, Dan, and raising two children while her brother ran the village as Hokage. It had been his dream. But, now those dreams were like dust in the wind. Thought of quickly and easily forgotten.

As she wandered the village this time her head in the clouds, a solid heap of flesh bumped against her.

"Granny, is something wrong with dad? Are you looking for me?" it said.

Tsunade, on the other hand, silently cursed her bad luck. The last thing she needed was for the blond orange bombshell waking the entire hospital. No she had to nip this in the bud.

"No, there's nothing wrong with your dad"

But the nine tails jailer refused to back down. "But, Granny"

"But nothing Naruto. Your dad is resting. It is the middle of the night. You can see him tomorrow. He's not going anywhere." she crossed her fingers behind her back for telling a little white wanted to tell him that his father was awake but she knew it would be disastrous.

She needed something to distract him.

"Naruto, report to my office first thing in the morning. There's a mission I would like to discuss with you."

...

TBC


	6. Chapter 6:Mission

A/N: No Hell has not frozen over. Pigs still don't fly, and Aizen is still a butterfly(sorry bleach joke). But, guess what? I am back with a new chapter. I know surprising isn't it? Thankfully my finger has healed enough for me to type out a new chapter so here it is. Thank you everyone who has alert, reviewed, or saved this fic as a fav. Your responses and encouraging words have inspired me. I am warning you now, this chapter is a doozy but it also very intentional as you will see so please don't flame me... Reviews are love. Thanks again for reading...

**Chapter 6:**

**Mission**

**.~.~.~**

Perspiration moved slowly down his face as he sat strapped to the chair. It was something similar to a dream once had. In his dream, he sat strapped to a chair as his teammate Sakura- chan laid across the floor wrapped completely in ramen. Now he wasn't complaining or anything for he would have paid money to see Sakura-chan wrapped in anything but the fact that she was covered in ramen made the dream that much better. If only things like that happened in real life.

"Naruto?"

The blond continued imagining the many things or rather ways he could eat the ramen starting with chopsticks vs no chopsticks...

"Naruto"

A hand moved across the blond's face which was still lost somewhere in a dream world. Naruto Uzumaki was a self proclaimed ramen connoisseur...Him and ramen went together like cereal and milk or for a better reference Kakashi and his orange perverted novel.

A hand slammed down upon his head as he drifted to the inner parts of his ramen world snapping him immediately out out his little world.

"Ouch" the blond exclaimed putting a hand up to the now aching spot.

A blond haired woman with honey eyes glared at him from across the desk that was now covered with mountains and mountains of paperwork.

"Thank you, Kakashi" she said to the white haired ninja who was now seated on the windowsill with the perverted orange novel in his hands.

"No problem" he muttered from the behind the navy blue mask.

The blond blinked owlishly. He hadn't even noticed Kakashi-sensei had even come into the room. _Was he losing his touch as a ninja_?

The blond haired woman stood up and walked to the front of the desk where she crossed her arms defensively.

She glared at the young man who was still strapped to the chair and then her eyes softened slightly.

"The reason I have brought you here is because...Naruto!"

Naruto glanced up at the woman who had become somewhat of a surrogate drunk grandma to him. He smiled sheepishly as he held up the once secure restraints and tossed them upon the desk.

"Sorry baaa-chan, those were uncomfortable"

Tsunade glared at the blond so hard that even the shinigami of another world grew uncomfortable.

"Now as I was saying, the reason you two are here because I have assigned you two a mission." she said turning her gaze upon the white haired man in the corner. He was still deeply buried in his novel and there were little perverted schoolgirl giggles coming from the famed Copy Ninja.

"Kakashi! Put that book away or I will personally burn every single page of your Icha Icha collection along with all of your masks."

The Copy Ninja lowered the book and paled slightly.

"You wouldn't" he said his eyes crinkling into a smile.

"I would" the Hokage smiled sadistically.

Kakashi turned and slipped his novel into the small pack he always kept on his person for times such as these. He knew he had been pushing it a little by reading in front of her, knowing how much she hated the novels her former teammate written. The last thing he needed was to lose his mask or his women of this village would rejoice upon seeing his face which was why he wore it in the first place. It would be an never ending mob of fan-girls chasing him. And that was the last thing he needed especially with his occupation.

"Now, the reason why you two are here is because you two have been assigned an S-class mission. "

"But, Baaa chan what about Sakura chan?" Naruto asked suddenly.

Tsunade sighed and then chose her words carefully.

"Sakura will not be assigned to this mission because she is not a member of ANBU."

The blond frowned. He wasn't a member of ANBU either so why was he assigned to this mission? Was it because of his extremely stealthy stealth skills? Or because of his tenant?

"But, baaa chan I'm not an ANBU." the blond answered.

Tsunade smirked. She could always count of Naruto's reasoning skills. He wasn't always the sharpest tool in the box but he was always the one that got the job done no matter what it was.

"What I think Naruto means is that neither one of us are members of ANBU so why are we being assigned to this mission? "the Copy Nin interrupted with a pensive look in his eyes.

Tsunade smirked yet again but this time catching the Copy Nin's eye.

He eyed smiled at her. Of course Kakashi was a genius so he already knew what she was up to whether he admitted it or not.

"As you know Kakashi, as a former member of ANBU, no one ever really leaves ANBU and also there has been a revelation as of late where your expertise is needed."

Kakashi's white eyebrows raised in surprise. He hadn't been expecting that.

"What are you talking about, baaa chan?" Naruto asked jumping up from the chair.

Tsunade closed her eyes and counted to 5 slowly and when she got to 5 she started counted backward again until the urge to kill the blond wore off.

"I was just getting to that, brat" Tsunade said tapping her foot impatiently.

"Then what is it? I want to go visit my dad at the hospital just in case he is awake." the blond responded impatiently.

Tsunade turned around and moved back over to her desk and dropped down into the seat. She eyed the blond curiously.

"I was trying to tell you that you have been promoted, brat" she said tossing a blank white ANBU mask at the blond.

Naruto, who had been twitching in anticipation and worry, stopped dead in his tracks. His blue eyes widened considerably as he caught the mask in his hands.

"Baaa chan, are you saying ..."

"Yes, Naurto."

Naruto eyes widened even further and then he pumped a fist in the air.

"Yes, I knew I would get it!" he exclaimed momentarily forgetting that he had been on his way to the hospital.

Tsunade smiled. Her eyes glowed with worry and happiness. This was the first time she had seen Naruto happy in such a long time. Of course she had seen her fellow blond smile all the time but this smile was different. This smile was a smile of genuine happiness.

The Copy Nin stood and gave his former student a pat on the shoulder in congratulations but the blond was blabbering about something completely unrelated to the situation at hand.

"I told Kiba I would make it so how he owes me 100 dollars and a lifetime of free ramen." the blond said with a smile on his face. "Wait until I tell dad about this."

Kakashi cast a glance at Tsunade over Naruto's head. He already knew what this mission was even if she hadn't said anything.

"Before you leave I would need to actually tell you what the mission is brat..." Tsunade said with an irritated with glare.

"Oh right" the blond said sheepishly.

"Your mission...Is to guard the man who is currently for now posing as Minato Namikaze."

0o0o0o0o0

As he sat across the man he had known his entire life, Minato began to feel uncomfortable. After all, the white haired man had sat there for the longest without a word otherwise. He just sat there and stared at Minato as if he was a long lost relic.

"Sensei" he began.

The man glared and moved to stand.

"Who are you?" the Sannin/author asked.

"Minato Namikaze"

The white haired pervert glared.

"Minato Namikaze has been dead for 17 years now. There is no way you could possibly be him."

Minato stilled.

'_He was dead? Since when?_'

"Sensei, I'm not dead. I'm right here." Minato said quietly.

"Bullshit." Jiraiya bellowed as he glared at the young man in the bed who looked so much the elder of his two former students.

"No sensei. It's me" Minato insisted this time panic starting to make its way into his voice. _What was happening to him?_ He never panicked.

"I refuse to believe that. Minato Namikaze would have never panicked the way you are starting to now. Admit it. You're an impostor. Someone sent here from another hidden village to start another war."

'_What in the hell was sensei talking about?'_

"Another War?" Minato questioned.

Jiraiya remained quiet.

"But sensei we are already involved in a war. Are you saying another village would try to attack us while we are already at war?"

Jiraiya looked at the man sharply. As far as he knew, they weren't involved in a war just yet. Yes, other countries were starting to declare war against the Akatsuki but Konoha hadn't entered as of yet. Could this impostor know something he didn't?

"Yes, Another war." Jiraiya responded.

"But sensei. Sarutobi had just announced last week that the end of the war was near since I have finally cracked my new technique. He was going to use me on the front line to end all of this."

Jiraiya exhaled sharply. A look of absolute wonderment crossing his face.

"Sarutobi has been dead for more than four years now. So you are going to have to do better than that to convince me that you are who you say you are."

"Sarutobi...is ...dead?" Minato said reproachfully his face of complete and utter surprise.

"Of course he is." Jiraiya said staring at the Minato look alike strangely. If this really was spy then wouldn't he know about Sarutobi among other things.

There was quiet before Minato finally spoke again.

"You don't believe me?" Minato commented.

"I have no reason to believe you." Jiraiya began but stopped once he noticed the look upon the young man's face. That look. He had seen it many times upon the face of his student. Father and son alike. He didn't know any other people on the world who could make that face. The face of one who world had been shattered with only a few words.

"Then I guess I will have to make you believe me." Minato murmured.

Jiraiya laughed. Now that was something Minato would say.

"There's nothing you can do to make me believe you but I'll say this you got guts kid."

Minato wrinkled his nose in distaste.

He had always loathed that nickname his sensei had given him.

The white haired self proclaimed pervert stood to finally leave. For a moment, Minato counted his blessings until he remembered what he wanted to ask him.

"Sensei before you go..."

The white haired man turned his head indicating that he was listening.

"Who is Kushina?"

And for the first time since he had entered the room under Tsunade's order's Jiraiya's once lively face broke out in a small smile.

He turned to the young man in the bed who was peering at him with open curiosity.

"Kushina.." he began choking back a laugh.

"Kushina Uzumaki...?"

'_That name really sounds familiar_' Minato thought to himself.

"Is your wife, of course..."

And for the first time since he had woken up from his coma, Minato Namikaze promptly passed out.

Jiraiya laughed hysterically as he closed the door.

It was good to have the kid back.

0o0o0o0o

As she checked the results for the thousandth time that one hour, Sakura Haruno couldn't believe what she was reading.

She and Shizune had conducted the DNA test four times to make sure their results were accurate and she still didn't believe what she was reading.

Yes, it was against hospital policy to read test results but her curiosity had gotten to the best of her so she had secretly conducted a second test while Shizune went home for a few hours to rest leaving her all alone in the lab.

Not only had the test results confirmed that this man was the Yondaime but it did indicate her blond idiot teammate was somehow a relative of the most honored ninja in history.

So now all she had to do was find out...just how these two were related.

0o0o0o0

"What do you mean_ posing_ as my dad?" Naruto asked his face tight with anger.

Tsunade looked at the young man sadly. Shizune had promised her that the results would be on her desk first thing in the morning but she hadn't seen Shizune or the results today. She hated telling Naruto that this man could possibly be an impostor but it needed to be said. She wasn't going to let her favorite blond get his hopes up especially if this man turned out to be an enemy spy.

"Naruto we are on the brink of a war. You are going to tell me that it hasn't crossed your mind that this man couldn't be your dad knowing that he shouldn't be alive right now?" Tsunade questioned.

The silence from Naruto answered her question.

'_So he did think that this guy couldn't be his dad._' Tsunade thought surprised. Maybe the baka was finally using his head for once.

"He's my dad" Naruto said his blond hair falling into his eyes like a blond curtain.

'_He's starting to look more and more like sensei everyday_.' Kakashi mused to himself.

"How do you know for sure?" Kakashi spoke up curious as to how the blond was going to answer.

"Because...I can just feel it"

Tsunade smirked. As much as she wanted to believe Naruto, she had to trust her instincts even though her heart told her that this man was indeed Minato. She had a village to protect. Personal feelings aside, she had protect her village and that included Naruto since he held Konoha's own tailed demon. She, like everyone who knew Minato, would honor Minato's last wish which was to protect his son. Now the hero part, she was skeptical about but she would honor it anyway even if it meant she would be hated by him. She would move heaven and Earth to protect Naruto.

"Just because you feel it doesn't make it..."

A knock at the door interrupted her sentence.

"Come in" she ordered.

A flare of pink hair peeped its head through the door. A large smile crossed Tsunade's face, a deep red on Naruto's, and an eye smile greeted the pink haired kunoichi as she entered the room.

"Lady Tsunade these are for you." Sakura said peering around the room. She found it odd that her two teammates from Team 7 were assembled but they hadn't summoned her.

"Thank You, Sakura" Tsunade said without looking up from the papers. Her eyes stared distractedly at the paper before she turned pale.

"Kakashi- sensei?" Sakura inquired softly.

"Yo" Kakashi greeted back, his lone eye crinkling into an eye smile.

"What are you two doing here without me?" she asked a dark aura surrounding her.

Naruto, who hadn't been included in the conversation, took a step back wanting to be far away from the pink haired kunoichi whenever she was angry. The hairs at the back of his neck rose. Yep, Sakura was definitely angry.

Kakashi gulped inconspicuously. He knew how much the only female student of Team 7 hated to be left out of things which was why Tsunade probably hadn't told her they were coming today.

Now he had to listen to her bitch and groan about her being left behind...again..

"Sakura-chan, I..."Naruto began.

"Sakura. You are dismissed." Tsunade said with a clipped voice.

Sakura eyed the blond woman suspiciously but didn't say anything for fear of being crushed by one of her fists again..

"Yes, Lady Tsunade." she said bowing.

As the door closed quietly behind her, Tsunade turned to the two men inside her office. Her face was the pure epitome of seriousness.

"Naruto, read this." she said handing the paper over to the surprised blond.

Naruto took the paper and began to read.

Kakashi walked over and read over the blond's shoulder, his eyes widening at the contents.

Tsunade eyed the two men and folded her hands on the smooth surface of the desk.

"Your mission has changed. But before I give you the mission I need to talk to Naruto alone for a moment."

Tsunade nodded to the white haired copy nin.

"Kakashi can you step outside for a moment?"

Kakashi smiled knowingly,shrugged and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Naruto stood there and watched the smoke disappear before he turned back Tsunade.

"Naruto, your father is awake but..."

Before another word could be said Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze disappeared in an orange flash.

0oo0oo00

Minato groaned as he came to.

The last thing he remembered was talking to Jiraiya sensei about the war.

It had hurt to hear that his sensei didn't believe he was who he said he was.

And he couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that he was dead.

Jiraiya-sensei hadn't told him how he died? All he said that he was dead.

In fact, he had been dead for 17 years.

A chill raced down his spine.

Why did he suddenly have a feeling that something was terribly wrong?

"Dad?" a voice called.

Minato looked up and his eyes locked with blue eyes that were identical to his own.

The blond haired young man who had attacked him in the Tower stood in the corner watching him as he gathered his bearings.

"What are you doing here?" Minato asked cautiously itching to grab a kunai and then realizing he didn't have any weapons.

The other blond scratched his head sheepishly "I'm here to see you, dad."

Naruto watched as the emotions played across his father's face. He watched as they varied from surprise, to anger, to surprise and then finally settling on neutral.

"I'm not your father, kid."

Naruto smirked and stepped over to the foot of the bed.

"Really? Is your name Minato Namikaze?"

Minato nodded his head vigorously finally glad that someone had finally realized he was who he said he was.

"Yes, I'm Minato."

"Then congratulations" another voice said from within the room.

Both men turned as Kakashi sat on a chair by the window reading his novel idly.

Minato got over his shock quickly as if he was used to this type of thing.

"Who are you and why are you congratulating me?"

Kakashi ignored the question about his identity but he answered the other question pointedly.

"Because he's your son, sensei"

Minato froze and then turned to the other blond his eyes taking in the blond's appearance seemingly for the first time.

Then he shook his head, his blond locks whipping around his face wildly.

"I couldn't be your dad kid. I am only 16."

And for the first time in the history of Konoha, the hyperactive knucklehead Naruto Uzumaki and the Genius Perverted Kakashi Hatake were both rendered absolutely speechless.

0o0o0o0

A man clad in a dark robe and orange mask walked through the forest he had known all too well.

He had played there as a child, trained there as a teenager, and saved lives in that same forest.

As he adjusted the weight that was now pressed upon his back, he knew that he would need to get back to the cave before being detected.

The sound of a groan stopped him mid-step.

He thought for a moment before he put his precious cargo down and begin to eye the person he had captured.

A long trail of blood ran down her face as she groaned from the pain of being injected with a slow moving poison.

He stood up and adjusted his mask his lone eye spinning wildly.

He reached down and touched the brunette's hair and smirked sadistically.

Now that he had his bargaining chip, things were finally going to be how they were supposed to have been.

He would complete his moon eye plan and finally gain the ultimate power.

He would finally obtain the 10 tails by getting to the nine tails first.

...

_TBC_...


	7. Chapter 7: Missing Pieces

A/N: Hello everyone and happy holidays. I just wanted to get this chapter out since Thanksgiving is coming up soon so I hope everyone be safe and happy and please enjoy.

.

**Chapter 7:**

**Missing Pieces  
**

**.~.~.~**

A dark aura surrounded a blond haired woman as she sat mournfully at her desk. The said desk was covered in mounds of paperwork consisting of simple things such as a permit to sell sake at a certain village to complex matters such as when Konoha was going to strike in the "war." Tsunade once had been the type of woman to be worried about things. But, after the death of her fiancee Dan, she had lost every worry bone she ever had. It wasn't until she thought she lost her teammate Jiraiya that she realized that sometimes worry was a good thing. Worry kept her sane and made her realize that she still possessed some human emotion.

Her latest worry? Two words: Namikaze Minato.

When she had spoken to Kakashi earlier, he had informed her of his and Naruto's impromptu visit to the hospital where not only had they been rendered speechless but the future blond/orange Hokage was close to tears after they had left. Apparently, after "Minato" declared that he was nothing but a 16 year old Jounin, Naruto and Kakashi both decided that they needed a moment to sort things out with their mind.

Minato's declaration was not an easy one for neither to digest. For Kakashi, it was almost as if he had lost his sensei all over again. But, for Naruto it was if he lost his father all over again even though he had never really met his father except that one time. Naruto, for all his loudness and obnoxiousness, was a gentle hearted boy. He believed in giving things his all. He believed he could change the world. He was the one who had persuaded her to come back to Konoha. It had been his Will of Fire that burned so brightly that it made her realize that she had been running from her destiny and if it was one thing she knew about destiny; it was a bitch who simply couldn't be outrun.

Two minutes later, she was rummaging through her drawer where she kept her "emergency stash" of sake. Shizune was due into the office at any moment so she knew she had to make it quick. Shizune had a reputation of taking the wonderful elixir from the normally hungover Hokage. Shizune simply believed in putting the job first.

Tsunade set the bottle of sake on her desk.' _Any moment now_' she thought to herself.

Shizune was of course, consistent with being on time. She, like Tsunade, believed that one second made a difference between life and death.

She raised the bottle to lips. '_Could she make it_?' she wondered.

As the top of the bottle rested on her lips, she frowned. Something was wrong. It wasn't like Shizune to be late, at all.

She had once joked with Jiraiya that Shizune was part bloodhound, for she could smell alcohol from a mile away. So, for her to not be here as she raised the bottle to her lips, immediately sent up a red flag. She had to find out just what was going on here.

M

Haruno Sakura rested comfortably in her nice comfy bed after a long day of work. Today had been a stressful day. Not only was she dealing with the Namikaze case but she also had to do an extra round of rounds at the hospital. Shizune, for some unknown reason, had not shown up for work that day. Normally she would have found it worrisome, but she knew Shizune had just started dating Konoha's number one sleazeball, I mean, bachelor Genma. Genma had a reputation as a playboy and ladies man. But, it had been one day after Shizune saved his life that he began to see Shizune in a new light.

He had pursued her relentlessly. Sending flowers, cards, candy, and once even an over-sized bear. Shizune hadn't been flattered. As a matter of fact, Shizune had given the gifts away stating that the gifts were from a "sarcastic, sleazeball would she wouldn't give the time of day to." But, eventually Genma had broken her down. It wasn't until he gave her a bouquet of poisonous flowers that Shizune had finally started to pay attention to the senban user. From that day forth, they had been practically inseparable.

As she tossed her bed for the second time that night, Sakura had a nagging feeling. Something wasn't knew she wouldn't be able to sleep until she found out what that feeling was. Maybe there was something wrong with Ino or Naruto? Whatever it was would allow her to go back to sleep so she got up from her red cocoon (comforter)that she wrapped around herself to trap in warmth and put on a t-shirt and a pair of chuunin pants. She grabbed an apple from the basket of fruit she kept on the kitchen counter. Her long day was turning into a long night.

M

A blinding headache greeted the young dark haired woman as she tried unsuccessfully to open her eyes.

'_Where am I?_' was her first thought.

Her second thought however was interrupted when a voice greeted her from the other side of the room.

"Oh, so you're finally up" a voice said.

She painfully opened her eyes and squinted in the direction of the voice. _'Why is everything blurry?'_ she wondered.

"You're probably wondering how you got here" the man asked laughing sillily.

The young woman squinted again but this time she was trying to focus her chakra. But there was only one problem. She couldn't feel her chakra.

"Don't bother" the voice said. "You my dear are wearing a chakra suppressor so you won't be going anywhere anytime soon. At least not until I get the nine tails, that is."

She flushed in anger. _'How dare this man keep her hostage in hopes of gaining Naruto?'_

She wouldn't let this happen. Naruto was like a kid brother to her. If it wasn't for Naruto, she and Tsunade would have still be on the road dodging her many debtors. No, she owed Naruto. If it hadn't been for the good word he had put in for Genma then she never would have found the love of her life. In fact, she probably would have still been harboring her long time infatuation with Hatake Kakashi. But, that was all the in the past now. This was the present and now she had to figure out a way out of this mess.

"I am going out to find us some food my dear Shizune" the man stated as her vision started to clear. She immediately recognized him from the bingo books and from a very detailed description from Team 7. This man was the infamous Tobi of the rogue elite class of killers, the Atakasti.

She gasped.

How exactly did she find herself in this situation again and how did he know her name?

The man stood right next to her close enough for her to smell, to see the impossible sharnigan swirling around in his eye.

He picked up a kunai and nicked her neck eliciting a gasp from the unwilling blood oozed down into her shoulder blade. There was laughter and a hint of danger in his voice as he spoke his next words.

"I think your visit here is going to be a very interesting one, don't you agree Shizune?"

Before she had a chance to respond, things went pitch black.

She was knocked unconscious.

M

"What do you mean she's not there?"the honey eyed woman roared as she snapped her charka clad fist into the desk in front of her.

The freshly recruited ANBU stood before the blond woman with fear brewing in his heart. He had heard stories of how angry the Hokage could be but he never thought he would experience her wrath on his first day. He had silently kicked himself for pulling the shortest straw.

She stood up and slammed her fist against the desk.

"Get me Hatake Kakashi now."

"Yes, Hokage-sama" the young ANBU stated before he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Tsunade glanced up and said a silent prayer.

"Shizune where are you?"

M

As he lay against the bed hours after the two men left, Minato was left in a state of confusion. He was sixteen years old with a 17 year old son? Impossible. There was no possible way anything happened like that in real life right?

That couldn't be true. It was this place... it was driving him insane. He wanted out now.

The white walls were driving him insane..Besides, no one was giving him answers. Every time he asked a question, he was either ignored or got the brush off. He couldn't take it anymore. Now it was time to get the answers he was seeking.

He turned to the window that the silver haired ninja conveniently left open.

Now it was time to plan his escape.

M

As Shizune slumped over into unconsciousness, her captor looked up to a seemingly blank space. As his lone sharnigan focused upon the one spot, he broke out into a goofy grin that could kill puppies.

"I know you're there. What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I would come greet you Tobi...Excuse me you're going by Madara these days right?" the person hissed pushing his glasses up on his face.

As the orange masked Uchiha member took in the other "man's" appearance, he whistled a happy tune. He clapped his hands happily as if there wasn't an unconscious woman at his feet.

"I'm impressed you even found me." Tobi replied.

"Remember I have served as a spy in numerous countries and spent some time working for this organization myself. Don't underestimate what I might know."Kabuto hissed back.

Tobi stood next to the unconscious woman analyzing his new-found enemy.

"The medic...Tsunade's apprentice..how did you capture her?" Kabuto hissed curiously.

Tobi/Madara smiled behind his mask and clapped his hands happily.

"I'm glad you asked. It was actually kinda easy. She was walking through the woods and I happened upon her and decided she would be a great companion. and I..."

Kabuto chuckled interrupting the man's obvious lie.

"Of course, you wouldn't tell me the truth. I don't know why I asked..."

"If you knew that then let me ask you this...what brings you here?" Madara asked in a serious tone dropping his playful facade.

"The shinobi are rising up against your moon's eye plan. The Atakasti is dead. How do you expect to win the war without any help."

Madara chuckled again this time his sharigian spinning wildly.

"Since you obviously know more about my plan, why don't you tell me what do you want."

Kabuto pushed up his glasses once again and glared at the masked man.

"You have something I want...I'm willing to help you if you give me what I want."

Madara raised an eyebrow in "surprise" even though he had been expecting it. This Kabuto obviously took him for an old fool. Oh well, he would go along with it for now.

"What is it that you want?" Madara asked in his "serious" voice.

"Uchiha...Sasuke."

"So, you want Sasuke huh?" Madara asked. "Why?"

"I have my reasons" Kabuto answered snidely.

Madara raised his hand to this mask in a pseudo thinking pose. He turned to the freakish mutation and commented, "You have not won my trust. Why on Earth did you think I would give you Sasuke?"

"Because..you have no one fighting on your side...But, if you give me Sasuke then I can change that..." Kabuto commented confidently.

"Show me"

Five boxes came from out of nowhere ,blocking the masked man's path. he gasped and stumbled in actual shock.

"This can't be!"

Five lone figures stood as the boxes opened revealing what was on the inside. Madara nodded again this time realizing what Kabuto had planned.

"Impure world resurrection..a technique only the second Hokage and Orochimaru knew. I'm actually impressed." Madara commented.

"This is a performance jutsu to earn your trust in my power"

Madara took a step back wondering just how crazy the being in front of him was.

"I didn't come here to fight" Kabuto commented closing the space between the two men.

"Why are you interested in Sasuke? Madara asked again not at all expecting an answer.

"No reason..I just want to know more about ninjutsu's that's all"

Madara smirked glad that his face was covered by the bright orange mask. There was no way he was going to let this snake get his hands on Sasuke. Sasuke was a fragile and impressionable young man. If Kabuto got his hands on him then he could kiss all of his plans goodbye. Besides, he needed Sasuke alive to capture the nine tails. He would have done it himself, but that wouldn't be any fun. Besides, he wanted ringside seats to the fight that was sure to come between the two.

"And if I refuse?"

"Impure World Destruction" Kabuto said his hands still together after performing the jutsu.

Another box from seemingly out of nowhere opened up in front of the masked man blocking his view of the silvered haired man.

"No, that's..."

"Yes, that's right...Did you think I came here without an ace up my sleeve huh?" Kabuto said.

Madara gave the man a slightly bemused look. For now, he would play along considering what Kabuto had just shown him.

He closed his eye and thought of the face of the nine tails. For all intents and purposes, he knew this was only the beginning of the end of the era of ninja.

M

As the sat on the training field he had once trained on when he was a young child, Jiraiya's eyes was filled with sadness. He had lived his life to the fullest. He had seen the world in all it's glory and he had no regrets except maybe one. He hated the fact that he had not been there for Naruto's birth. Had he been there, Minato would have never died. Jiraiya would have gladly given his life to protect Minato and his young family even if it meant giving up his own life. But, he hadn't been there even after Minato died.

When he had finally returned to the village, the village elders told him that Naruto had died in the nine tails attack. If he had known Naruto was still alive he would have gladly raised the boy. He had saw Minato as a son to him and in a way he saw Naruto as his grandson.

It wasn't until he met the blond haired boy after he had caught him snooping in at the bathhouses that Jiraiya had put two and two together. This boy..was the spitting image of his father. Mind you, there were some differences but the blond hair and blue eyes were a dead giveaway, how could anyone in this village had missed it? And the shape of his face and his never quit attitude was all Kushina. How could the people of this village treated Naruto so unfairly? He just didn't understand it.

As he sat there reviewing his life, his mind focused in on the one thing in life he had come to regret. In all his years, he had never achieved the one woman he had loved with all his heart. Sure, he had been with many women..Hell he had even been with a man once while he was drunk but that was a story for another time...

He remembered the last thing he had said to her before he had walked away. They both knew he wasn't coming back. They weren't naive, fresh out of the academy Genin. They knew he was going to meet his death and he didn't have a problem with it. He had only wished he had more time. But, he wasn't afraid to die. He would die as a hero defending his village just like Sarutobi-sensei had.

And he did die.

He remembered looking into the eyes of his former student and feeling ma and pa frog sage leaving him as he drifted to the bottom of the ocean.

But, it was what happened afterward he wasn't sure.

All he remembered was the whisper of a voice and then waking up in the center of the woods near Konoha.

He couldn't remember what happened but for some reason he couldn't shake the sinking feeling that this was the beginning of a long nightmare.

M

As the two ANBU level shinobi jumped from branch to branch on their search of the village, the younger of the two felt a sharp pain within his chest as if someone had just threw out a pan of ramen.

At first, the sensation dulled but only to return with more intensity.

Uzumaki Naruto was no fool.

He knew the simple words Sakura-chan had drilled into his skull since the had returned to the village a while back.

'_If you feel pain then stop idiot and get help._"

And that was what he did. Right there in the middle of a mission he stopped what he was doing and tried to find the source of his pain.

The leader of the two stopped and turned back to the blond who was now sitting on the ground in the process of making a shadow clone.

"Naruto, what you are doing? We are in the middle of a mission"

Naruto removed his mask and turned his blue eyed gaze to his white haired former sensei/ANBU commander.

"Kakashi-sensei, something is wrong." the blond mumbled picking the twigs out of his bright blond hair.

"Yes, Naruto something is wrong. You stopped in the middle of a mission. Not just any mission but a search mission. What if the enemy had been behind us? You could have gotten both of us killed."

Clone Naruto scratched his head and chuckled sheepishly while its master remained in deep concentration.

"Kakashi-sensei something is wrong." the blond repeated as he started making hand signals for sage mode.

"Naruto, we need to get moving. We have no time to take a rest because..." the copy nin trailed off as he saw his student make the same hand signals over and over to no avail.

"Kakashi-sensei, something is wrong! My sage mode isn't working." the blond cried in alarm before a white hot blinding pain exploded behind his eyes.

"Shit"

The last thing Naruto saw was the concerned gaze of his sensei as he hit the ground.

M

As he walked through the deserted streets of Konoha, Minato spotted the one place that seemed familiar throughout all of this mess.

The Ramen Place.

As the little shop sat there like an angel in the moonlight, Minato felt more at home. This had been the place where he had every meal whether it was morning, noon, or night. This was his home, his haven. In all of his years of traveling with Jiraiya or going on missions, he had never tasted ramen as good as this one little shop that sat here before his eyes.

But, before he could encompass himself in the scent surrounding the shop, a blast of pain exploded within his head. He crouched down in pain, hoping he would but wouldn't be noticed. The last thing he wanted to go back to the hospital.

But, before he could make sense of the source of the pain a series of flashes passed before his eyes.

He saw it all.

The blond on his hands. The scent of the red haired woman's hair as her body was pressed close to his as he drew in his final breath. The crying baby on the ground with a shock of blond hair and blue eyes. The rush of love he felt as he moved his hands in the final seal summoning the death god.

He had seen it all but it still hadn't made any sense.

'_What were these feelings? These emotions? It was as if he lived another life without living it yet. Was these events were to happen in the future? Was this what everyone refuse to tell him? Was this how he died?_'

As the last pangs of pain faded from his mind, a firm hand gripped him pulling his weak body from the ground. He opened his eyes slowly anticipating the harsh words that was sure to come.

"Are you alright?"

Minato looked up into the eyes of the man who had always been there for him. The man who had fixed his favorite meal since childbirth. This man who knew the village secrets without ever having to pick up a kunai.

"Are you alright?" the ramen owner repeated concern lining his face.

Minato straightened his stolen clothes and smiled at the aging old man.

"Things are well my old friend."

"It's not for you" a harsh voice snapped behind him.

He turned to the sound of the voice.

Today was not his day.

.

.

.

_TBC_...

-End Chapter-

Hello all and thanks for reading. Hope you guys liked this chapter since it was the longest I have written so far. I have a lot of things to go over so read on please..

Now, for those of you who are still reading guess what time it is? Rant time!

Normally, I am not the type of person to rant over anything but I have to say this: I thank you all for the wonderful reviews, alerts, and favs they mean alot to me. But, is it too much for me to ask you guys to review more? Usually when I put a chapter of this story up I am getting close to 3,000 hits so I know people are actually reading but not reviewing. If it is not too much to ask please review. Also, there is a poll on my profile of whether or not you guys want this story to continue. I was just going over the numbers a minute ago and they're pretty low so make your voice known..Vote now for the fate of this story...

Ok rant over. Thank you very much for reading :-)


	8. Chapter 8: Disturbance in the Force

**A/N:**Honestly, I am not satisfied with this chapter. It honestly has been pretty much done since December but I just couldn't force myself to post it.I actually ended up rewriting this one chapter at least six times. But, due to a recommendation from a friend who absolutely loved it, I decided to stop being such a perfectionist and just post. Also, I think I need to clear some things up. I have no intention of leaving this story unfinished. I got multiple reviews from the last chapter asking me not to quit. I'm not. As for my reason for not updating please see note on my profile...

Also thank you for the 9 C2's, 120 favorites, and 160 alerts and anyone else who has read the story..I really, really appreciate it! Now if you are tired of reading this then move to the story below :-).

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Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto but I did then there would surely be plenty of changes...

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Chapter 8:**

**A Disturbance in the Force**

**.~.~.~.**

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In the back of his mind, he had always worried about how he would die.

At the tender age of six, he had broken his arm trying to master a jutsu.

His immediate thought was '_Am I going to die_?.'

At the time, his dear mother had wiped the tears from his bright blue eyes and told him that he wouldn't die for a long time. At the time, it had made him feel better but in a way he could slowly hear time just ticking away. When he made Chunin for the first time, he went to the hospital from a wound inflicted by this red headed boy. He was again at once brought to the conclusion that he was going to die. At the time, the person had joked that they had rabies and that he would die. Little did he know at the time ,it wasn't at all possible for him to have rabies since the bite never broke the skin.

At the age of 16 and the status of Jounin, Namikaze Minato would have never thought that his death would occur right in front of the ramen stand.

As the pink haired figure in front of his face glowering in anger, Minato had a revelation.

He didn't understand women.

At least not the one who was standing in front of him now. The pink haired girl from earlier was staring at him as if she was willing to drop dead at that particular moment. It was not a pretty sight. Considering the fact that her extra wide forehead was gleaming into his eyes like a bright light into the forest.

"What are you doing out here? You are supposed to be in a hospital room?" she seethed putting a hand upon one hip. Obviously this young kunoichi had a problem with the fact that he had discharged himself from the hospital on his own accord. Well she would just have to get over it.

"Listen, I..."

"No butts. You are still too weak to be out on your own" the pink haired woman screeched once again this time possibly disturbing the sleeping and the dead. Her voice it seemed to take on an annoying quality as she got angrier. Not a very pleasant experience.

"I was just going to..."he began

"I don't care what you were going to do.." The pink haired woman argued. "Back to the hospital now or Lady Tsunade will kill me."

Now there was one many didn't know about Namikaze Minato. Not only was he hailed as a genius at a young age but he had the temperament of a falling leaf. No, that didn't mean people ran over him; he just didn't know what to say around women young and old.

"No" he replied.

Silence.

That was the noise to be heard as the pink haired woman stared at the blond silently wondering if this was a joke gone wrong.

Sakura leaned against the small building where the infamous ramen expert worked his magic. She wanted to laugh at the sight of this young man telling her no. It was almost sad that he didn't know that no was the wrong answer. Oh well, it was her job to keep him informed.

"Did you just tell me no?" she asked with an annoyed grimace.

Minato, who unknowingly had pissed the pink haired woman off, smiled at the woman proud of the fact he actually said something that made sense for once.

"Yes...I said no and I think you are acting like a crazy bit..."

Thump.

It had came so quick that he had almost missed it.

If he hadn't been acknowledged as one of the fastest ninjas in Konoha then he would have fell into her trap and then...

He looked down at her blocked fists just in time to notice the charka infused syringe sticking out of his chest.

'_How did she?_' he wondered as his eyes started to slip closed. '_Fuck_.'

Thump.

That was the sound of Minato's body as he hit the ground.

Sakura stood before the blond making note of the large sized lump that was forming at the back of the young blonds head.

She smirked in satisfaction before considering the fact the she had just re-injured a chakra dehydrated ninja.

"Maybe I should have caught him." she thought as she stooped to pick up the fallen nin.

Hopefully Tsuande wouldn't notice the new lump at the back of the head.

Oh who was she kidding?'

Her shishou was going to kill her.

* * *

M

Dancing bowls of ramen greeted him as he entered into his fantasy world. It was something like a dream come true. The world glowed a bright orange before turning into a sea-foam green. He adjusted himself in his favorite seat at the ramen shop trying to get himself comfortable so he could focus on the bowls of ramen before him.

"Ahhh ramen. I'm home"

When the bowls of ramen started screaming "Eat me" and spewing blood from seemingly out of nowhere that was when the young ninja realized that it was just too much him to take. He awoke with a flourish followed by a loud "ouch."

The white walls and the strong scent of alcohol informed of where he was at the current moment. Of course it was a very familiar place since this was where Kakashi-sensei occupied his time whenever he either ran out of chakra during a mission or after he got lost on the road to life.

If he hadn't saw the familiar little picture on the wall of a ninja clutching his most honorable place saying "Keep your little shinobi healthy", then he probably would have doubts about where he was but that picture had pretty much confirmed it. Besides, who could forget a picture like that? It still gave him nightmares.

"Pretty creepy huh?" a voice mumbled.

A pair of blue eyes looked up to meet a pair of lighter and identical blue eyes. One pair of the eyes widened considerably and the other looked back with a curious gaze.

"Dad, what are you doing here?"

* * *

M

Deep within the icy hills of snow country, Konoha's former number one ladies man felt a tingle in his right arm. Normally, Shiranui Genma was not a superstitious person. When he had met Shizune, there had been a tingle in his right arm. Mind you, it was from being injected with poison but it was the luckiest day of his life thus far. He had met the type of woman he had never thought he could settle down with. The serious, studious, sweet, and calm woman who changed his world forever.

When they had gotten attacked they were in the middle of rice country looking for any sign of the Akatsuki. There had been rumors of a secret hideout in the country and Tsunade had ordered a special team to check it out even if it did mean a dead end.

They had spent the better part of a week in Rice country before anything happened. They had been scooping the area thinking of sending a messenger bird home telling the Hokage of their findings when shit hit the fan. After a poisonous gas had been released into the air rendering half of his team unconscious, Genma was prepared to fight to the death. He wasn't gonna die without taking a few people with him. After all, that was his shinobi-tude.

So, as the feeling of deja vu washed over him, Genma recalled looking into Shizune's eyes before he left Konoha.

He tapped the small piece of silver that he had been keeping on his person for months. Yes, that's right. He was going to give up his much earned bachelor's status. Genma had finally found the one.

What Shizune didn't know that he had big plans for their relationship. which was why he was waiting until he reached Konoha to finally ask the one question he had been escaping his entire life.

'S_hizune_' his mind echoed before a startling stillness settled around him.

In all of his years of being an ninja, he had never experienced silence. It was in that moment he automatically knew something was wrong.

Before the words could flee from his lips, a bright explosion from below rendered him incapable of speaking. His team, or rather what _had_ been his team was currently a dark crater in the ground. A smoking brown smudge was the only thing indicating that human beings once occupied the area.

He held a stoic pose and said a silent prayer for his fallen comrades.

It was in the shinobi handbook not to show emotion but he silently sent up a prayer for the families of his team.

He knew at least two of them were expecting children.

What a terrible day this was indeed.

Before he could escape the tree he had been occupying another explosion sounded but by time he was too late. The circumference of the blast paralyzed his body as it blew the once illustrious body of the senban wielder downward where his vertebrae literally collapsed upon impact with the unfeeling ground below.

Blood escaped his lips as he thought once of again of the one person who had made his life worth living.

'_Shizune_'

There in the icy hills of ice country suffocating in a pool of his own blood, lay the once love of Shizune's life.

He gasped her name as cold chill racked his body.

It was at this moment Genma knew he hasn't kept his promise.

He found it ironic that he wouldn't live to see battle or to finally give up his bachelorhood.

He smiled as the overwhelming chill began to overtake his slim body.

As his life finally drained from his body, it would be weeks before someone would find his body. It would be then that everyone would learn that Konoha's former number one bachelor was was no more.

* * *

M

"So, Sakura-chan put you here huh?" one nine tails container chuckled at the fatherly blond in front of him.

Minato looked up and glared at his fellow blond before his gaze wandered the room, "Has anyone ever told you that your teammate is scary? She reminds me of..."

Naruto perked up at this. He wondered who his beloved Sakura-chan reminded his father of. "Who?"

Minato scratched his head and let out a dry laugh."Ah, I forgot never mind."

"Oh ok...Dad?"

Minato's eyes continued to wonder the room until he heard his fellow blond's comment. He glowered. " How many times do I have to tell you? I am not your dad!"

And just as before, Naruto continued to ignore his father's protests. "You are my dad." he whispered softly.

"What's that?"

Naruto shook his head before looking at his father with a familiar twinkle in his eyes. Minato knew that look. He had seen it plenty of times when Kushina wanted to...'_wait who was Kushina again?'_

"No"

Naruto looked up with a deer caught in headlights look. "No, what?"

Minato didn't speak for a second but tiltled his head regarding the young man in front of him. "Whatever you are thinking right now, the answer is no."

"But, I haven't even asked you..."

"No, whatever it is...the answer is no."

* * *

M

Jiriaya sat on the ledge of a nearby tree as the two blonds conversed below. He was fairly sure that neither one of the dense blonds were supposed to be out and about just yet but when he had caught wind of what Naruto planned to do, he had to come see it for himself.

"Naruto, I don't think this is a good idea." Minato remarked uneasily.

He just couldn't understand just why the blond wanted to spar so badly even though they both were supposed to be somewhere else at the moment.

"But, Dad..."he began but stopped once he saw the glare upon Minato's face. "But, old man no one has been able to use your technique since you..."

Minato glared at the other blond. He didn't like being used for whatever reason.

"Naruto, what you are talking about doing is very dangerous. Despite what people may think, I am very loyal to my village and i do not believe in harming a fellow leaf nin. My techniques are classi..."

A light blue swirling ball of charka stopped his next sentence.

He had barely dodged before the ball of charka flew past him and destroyed a harmless tree.

He looked back from the tree to the young man who had apparently stolen his technique.

He could only speak the words as they flashed through his mind.

"Well, fuck." he said as he dropped his stolen jacket to the ground. "I guess you're serious then."

Naruto nodded confident that he had finally riled his father up enough to fight him seriously.

"Bring it on, old man. I know I can take you..."

Naruto looked up just in time to notice a streak of yellow light slam into his body. '_Oh fuck. I'm screwed._'

* * *

M

As he finally came to,he noticed two things, a punch to the face without being in sage mode hurt like a motherf- and he wanted to ...

"Ah, you're finally awake." Minato commented with a smile before walking over to a nearby sakura tree.

Naruto sat up only to notice the crimson blood oozing from his split lip. Well, that what wasn't what he quite expected when he begged his father to escape the hospital with him to spar. Of course, he knew all of the stories from his perverted sensei that his father was an excellent ninja but he had never once thought he would be able to take him on in this lifetime.

This shit was definitely was a learning experience.

"What happened?"

A chuckle from the sakura tree where Minato sat gained his attention. Surely, he wasn't hit that hard that trees were suddenly laughing in Konoha.

The white haired _pervert_, I mean, _autho_r dropped from the tree and walked over to where Naruto was still sitting on the ground.

"Ero-sennin, what happened?"

Jiraiya chuckled before he looked over to where Minato sat staring up at the clouds.

"You has just witnessed the reason why he is called the Yellow Flash." Jiraiya chuckled once again before continuing. "Hurts like a bitch doesn't it?"

* * *

M

As she awoke the first thing she noticed was the puddle of blood that seemed to soak through her clothes.

It was an unusual feeling, to be soaked on blood that seemingly didn't belong to her where it had come from she had no idea.

As she moved to stand, a voice or rather a memory floated into her mind.

"_Don't look so sad... Minato. I'm... I'm happy. Happy that you loved me. Happy that it's... our son's... birthday. If I had any regrets... It would be that I won't see Naruto grow up._"

As she shook her head to clear her mind, she noticed a white haired snake looking creature looking silently back at her.

"Welcome, welcome."a voice called.

She turned regretfully taking her eyes away from the snake creature in the corner, and faced the voice that had welcomed her.

She could feel the dread building up in her chest.

"You! I am going to kill you!"

* * *

TBC...

* * *

A/N: Dear Reader right now you are probably is wondering just what the hell is going on right now but trust me everything is pretty much interconnected or at least it will be by the end of the story. As for this story, I am going to continue this story. Even though I have not updated since 'Thanksgiving', I still read the comments that are being left. And thanks so much for them.I thank you so much for just taking time out of your day to even read or glance at this story.

Much Love,


	9. Chapter 9: Objective Misconception

A/N: Hi there! Sorry for leaving you guys hanging all these months. It has been a really hectic couple of months for me. Thanks for all the words of encouragement, reviews, faves, and alerts for this story. An idea came to me the other day while I was in class going over the Conceptual Foundations of Psychology and I have decided that I am going to update at half chapters instead of huge 8k word chapters until I am able to get back on track. Understand that I am doing this as a HOBBY not as a JOB. I have a very real life and very real responsibilities to take care of. I may have mentioned before that I am a graduate student so I am extremely busy. I appreciate all the words of encouragement. Remember after this chapter, the chapters will be very short but then I would be updating more frequently. My writing style may have changed a little from the previous chapter and I am sorry for that but I hope you still enjoy the story. As always thank you so much for reading and please don't forget to review at the end of the chapter..I'm hoping to reach at least 200 reviews with this story so review.I could really use your encouragement and input...

Thanks again for the 206 alerts, 154 favorites and to everyone who has reviewed so far... My readers are the best!

* * *

**Chapter 9  
**

**~Objective Misconception~**

**~.~.~.~.~**

* * *

When he had been younger he had always wondered what his parents would be like.

He had imagined his mother being a woman of extreme beauty with long, flowing blond hair and piercing green eyes who held the title of nobility but could throw one hell of a kunai. His father, well he had imagined his father being a powerful man who could take down entire countries with only one kunai. In fact, most of his childhood daydreams consisted of finding out the Yondaime Hokage was indeed his father. Never in his wildest, _ok maybe not wildest_, daydream would he ever imagine that would be true.

As he watched his father sit on the edge of a branch quietly, Naruto had a revelation. He should have NEVER coaxed his father into sparing with him. When he had proposed the idea of sparing to his father, he had thought maybe he could get in a hit or two but he hadn't imagined he would face the colossal beat down his father ensnared on him.

In his mind, he still couldn't believe he had knocked him out. In one hit, nonetheless.

It kinda bummed him out to know that his father wasn't even _trying_ and pretty much knocked him on his ass.

A cold breeze trembled his muscular frame as it blew his blond hair out of his blue eyes. A shiver racked his frame all the way to the core.

He would hate to see his father in action when he actually _tried_.

* * *

As the cold breeze drifted around the people of Konoha, in a tower high above the village one blond, amber eyed Hokage stood overlooking her village with a sad smile upon her face.

For some reason, she knew there was more to come than the winter approaching. Things were taking a turn for the strange. When Jiraiya had returned to the village after being pretty much pronounced dead, she knew there was more to it than what the old pervert was telling. There was a look in his eye that had never been there before.

It was the look of _"I looked death in the eye but I'm still here."_ She had seen that same look once before in a patient who had been on the brink of death. It was a strange look. One that never really seemed to go away...And now Jiraiya had that same look in his eye...Could it be possible that he cheated death? And if he hadn't then why on Earth was he still here?

A soft knock against the wooden door brought her out of her inner musings.

For a second, she had hoped that it was Shizune coming by to tell her that she had plainly overslept. But, deep inside she knew that wasn't true. Shizune was never late. Nor she would never be as callous not to tell Tsunade where she was...Something was out of place here.

The plain white mask gleamed underneath the harsh lights as the ANBU commander stepped forward. He had been the one in charge of the search party for Shizune. Even if she didn't know who was under the mask, she would immediately took his erect stance to mean that whatever news he had for her was not good.

"Report" she asked bluntly.

"My apologies Hokage-sama but there does not appear to be any sign of Shizune-san."

Her hands began to turn a pale complexion as the words sank in. Shizune was missing and could be possibly dead.

"Have you checked the fields? Her home? Genma's house?"

The ANBU nodded, as he continued to stare at her blankly. "Hai, Hokage-sama we have searched all the vicinity surrounding Konoha. There is simply no trace of Shizune-san."

She shook her head, as if to clear it before standing up and moving back to the window surrounding Konoha. "Continue the search and if you so much find a hair of hers report it to me. Got it?"

The ANBU bowed before disappearing in a poof of smoke. "Hai, Hokage-sama."

As the smoke cleared the elderly woman turned back to the window, her gaze was intense and unrelenting.

"Yamato, I hope you find her."

* * *

"You, I am going to kill you!" one, hot tempered, red-head screamed at the masked man who she hated with all her might.

It was because of this masked man that she had lost her husband, her son, her home, and her very extensive kunai collection. This man was the cause of everything and just as sure her name was Kushina Uzumaki Namikaze she was going to kill him.

"Calm down Kushina-san. There is no need for such pleasantries" the masked man, Uchiha Madara/Tobi, responded.

She snorted. "Maybe you haven't noticed but you are the reason why I am dead. If you think I am being pleasant to you then you have another thing coming, dattabattyo!"

Madara blinked, surprised. "Tobi, didn't mean you no harm Kushina-san. I just wanted to play with the fox thingy inside you. It wasn't personal."

The redhead stared hard at him, a frown lining her pretty face. "It wasn't personal? Well, excuse the hell out of me! Not only did you kidnap me but you also kidnapped my son and tried to persuade the nine tails to kill me. How in the hell is that not personal?"

A evil smirk came from the man behind the mask. Even though she couldn't see it, she knew it was there. She could just feel the evil radiating off the man.

"As I said before, Kushina-san, that attack was not meant to be personal. I was trying to take something from you and you just happened to be in the way...but as I said before it wasn't personal" Madara said in response to the fuming redhead accusations.

_'He said it wasn't personal. Is he really kidding me right now?'_ the redhead thought, fuming to herself. He didn't really believe that? Did he?

"Then what the hell was it?" Kushina demanded sharply. "If it hadn't been for you, then I would have been able to see my son grow up. To spend a lifetime loving my husband but it was you who screwed everything up for me. If I was at my full strength right now, then I would kill you where you stand."

Madara, who had been listening intensely to the woman rant for the last ten seconds, did something she had never expected him to do.

He shrugged...

"You bastard! I am going to kill you." she said before moving forward, despite the blood that seemed to clinging to her body like a second skin.

Madara shrugged once again, his eye focusing in on the young woman who was determined to end his life. He smiled once again his eyes crinkling into happy slits.

"But, Kushina-san, if you kill me then how else are you going to save your son...and your husband?"

* * *

"Naruto, I told you...I am not your father so can you please stop calling me that right now?" Minato asked blankly.

He was growing tired of reminding his fellow blond that he was not his father. Sure, he felt connected to Naruto but he wasn't quite convinced that he was his father given the fact that he was only 16 years old. He had an active imagination but it wasn't _that_ active.

"Naruto, you have been saying all day that I am your father but you have yet to provide any proof." Minato explained calmly.

"Proof?" Naruto asked with an eyebrow raised.

Minato shrugged before turning back to the window of his hospital room. Yes, he had gone back to the hospital but only because he wanted to make sure that Naruto was ok. He hadn't meant to hit him as hard as he did when they had been only sparring. It was just...the stress had finally gotten to him.

"Yes, proof." Minato said quietly before he glanced around the room once again.

"So, you will not take my word for it dad? Do you not trust me?" the blond asked his father with a gleam of sadness evident in his sapphire eyes.

Minato sighed, his frustration beginning to grate at his nerves. "I have always been taught to never believe in something without proof. I am a ninja, Naruto. Proof is everything to us. You understand...don't you?"

Naruto nodded solemnly, before walking over to where his father stood at the window. "Baa-chan told me not to tell you anything before she could figure everything out but I think you need to see this..."

Minato frowned, but he continued to watch as the young man raised up his orange t-shirt until his belly was showing.

"Naruto, I don't understand" he replied, before looking up into the now watering eyes of the blond.

"Channel your chakra into your hands and touch my stomach." Naruto said quietly.

"But, Naruto...I"

"Just do it Dad," Naruto snapped, his sapphire eyes filling with guilt and pain. He knew he was taking a dangerous step by showing this to his father but he need to see this. His father wanted proof and by God he was going to give him the proof he needed.

Minato frowned once again but he did as he was told.

He channeled a bit of chakra into his right hand and touched the blond's belly. The sadness, pain, hurt, and guilt was the last thing he saw in Naruto's eyes and his world became nothing but...darkness...

* * *

_A dark puddle of water greeted him as he stepped into a world filled with darkness. He tried to scream but no words were able to come out. He tried to lift his hand to see the hand in front of his face but he could not. It seemed as if he was in a state of being where he could not do anything but stare into the darkness._

_An evil aura, one he was sure he had felt before, seemed to be ebbing from his surroundings. It was a strange feeling. To be in a world where he couldn't see of feel anything. It was as if he had entered the twilight zone..._

_A low growl began to get louder as he began to move forward. He couldn't understand how he was moving forward but all he knew that he was moving forward as the growls continued to get louder...He was at the point of the loudest growl when he saw it...glowing in the light like a beacon was A Seal?_

_At the age of 16, he wasn't quite the seal expert just yet but Jiraiya had taught him a few things to the point where he could say that was not a novice at sealing. But, this seal...the one that seemed to glow before his eyes was something he had never seen before. Looking at it he knew it was complex, multi-layered even. But, there was something about it that made him want to reach out and touch it...as if it was calling his..._

_"Don't touch it." a voice growled in a low voice behind him._

_Minato looked up and just as he did his bright blue eyes clashed with another pair so familiar to his own._

_There standing in front of the seal was...the grown up form of himself?_

_'What in the hell was going on here?'_

_He must have spoken the question aloud for the ghostly figure of himself turned to him with a sad smile._

_"Who are you?" Minato asked the figure. _

_"Who am I?" The ghostly aspiration repeated the question with a smile. "I am you..." the figure said with the same sad smile covering its features. His blond hair gleamed and his blue eyes twinkled despite the dimness of the dark cavern._

_"But, how are you..." Minato began as the questions began to fill his mind. He had to figure why this ghost was saying that he was...well him..._

_The ghost tilted his head to side as if he was measuring the man in front of his eyes. Curiosity must have still been evident upon his features for the "ghost" turned to him and tilted his head in a "follow me" gesture.  
_

_"Come now,we have things to discuss."_

* * *

"So, you're telling me that you brought me here, from the dead, so I could unseal the dead demon seal my husband and I implanted on our son the day he was born?" the redhead asked with her hands on hips, her teeth grinding together in anger.

_'He better be thanking Kami that I do not have the strength to fight_.' she thought to herself as she stared at the man. She had enough time to figure out as well as before that the masked man who called himself "Tobi" was out of his mind.

Literally out of his mind.

Madara smiled from behind his mask.

Things were going according to plan. Now that he had told her his plan he was sure she would corporate with his efforts. After all, the only thing he was trying to do was make the world a better place. There was no wrong in helping your fellow man, despite how stupid and stubborn they may be, to become better. _Right?_

A bright smile lined the redhead's face as the ridiculousness his plan began to seep in. One chuckle and then another escaped her lips as she continued to analyze the absolute sheer idiocy of his plan.

This man was completely nuts to believe that he was going to rule the world by projecting the sharigian onto the moon.

Madara continued to stare at the woman until his alter ego, Tobi took over and began laughing with the woman. He had no idea what she was laughing about but it was bound to be funny.

She had stopped to gasp for breath when she looked into the eyes of the masked man. His lone eye seemed to be crinkled up in laughter and that sobered her up instantly. This man was laughing because of the pain she endured at his hands.

_'Psycho indeed.'_

Her senses tingled with anger. This man was very evil.

"You must be insane to think that I am going to unseal the nine tails from my son." she stated with a scowl.

She was tired of playing nice. She wanted to get out of here and go back to the place where she had been resting in peace.

An explosion of laughter escaped the masked man as her frown began to deepen.

_'What was so funny about what she said?'_

The laughter stopped abruptly as she locked eyes with the man and noticed the sharigian spinning lazily in his left eyes.

He noticed her expression and glared harshly. His sharigian began to spin wildly in his lone visible eye.

_"Me insane? No, my dear Kushina-san, what is truly insane is to think that you... had a choice in the matter..."_

* * *

_TBC..._


End file.
